"Equivalence scales, the cost of children, and the costs of living in the Japanese system of public assistance" (in Japanese)

We obtain equivalent scales that allow for different number and age of children by estimating a system of demand functions with micro-data for Japanese households. We then compare the estimated scales to the equivalent scales based on the costs of living institutionally set out in the Japanese system of public assistance (PA scales). We then show that the PA scales are larger than the estimated scales. In particular, the PA scales are larger for households with a relatively larger number of children, with from 6.6% to 33.3% differences.