This study examined the extent to which education levels in the 19th century have shaped current norms, which influence individuals' present-day non-cognitive skills and perceptions of life. Cross-country, individual-level data were compared with each country's average years of schooling in...

This paper examines how gender equality influences difference in cognitive skills between genders. For closer examination of Guiso et al. (2008), restricting the sample to immigrant allows us to reduce the possibility of reverse causality. Key findings obtained through regression estimation are:...

Based on prefecture-level panel data from Japan for the period 2010 - 2014, this study investigates the influence of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident on the body mass index (BMI) and obesity rates of children and any changes over time. A differences-in-differences approach was used to show...

Conflict can cause negative externalities to arise, and this can result in economic loss. Such externalities are also thought to influence individuals' perceptions about economic issues. Acemoglu and Robinson (2000) provide their hypothesis that the political elite extend the franchise to avoid...

This paper uses cross-country data to examine the long-term effect of trade openness on the gender gaps in wages, education, political empowerment and health. Key findings are: trade openness since 1970 reduced the gender gaps in wages and educational attainment as of 2011 but did not influence...

This paper uses individual level data (the Japanese General Social Survey, 2001) to examine how government size influences generalized trust. After controlling for income inequality, population mobility, city size and various individual characteristics, I found: (1) Using all samples, government...

This paper aims to explore how social capital is related to self-rated health status in Japan and how this relationship depends on the extent to which a person is embedded into the community. This study used data from 3079 adult participants in Japan’s Social Policy and Social Consciousness...

This paper uses panel data of OECD countries during the period 1995–2003 to examine how corruption affects fertility. The Corruption Perceptions Index is used to measure the degree of corruption. Fixed effects IV estimation and the Arellano-Bond dynamic panel estimation are employed to control...

Kahn (2005) found that ethnic heterogeneity reduces the number of deaths caused by natural disasters, a finding that is contrary to theoretical predictions. This paper casts doubt on this finding and uses cross-country data from 1965 to 2008 to conduct a re-estimation. To alleviate omitted...

Previous research shows that decentralization plays a key role in the reduction of damage caused by natural disasters. The effect of decentralization will differ according a country’s level of economic development. To investigate this matter further, this paper attempts to investigate how...