Using unique data from a Japanese survey, this paper examines whether flexible work arrangements targeted specifically at workers with caregiving responsibilities under the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act help family caregivers reconcile paid work with care provision. The regression results...

Financial literacy is gaining increasing importance as a policy objective in many countries. However, internationally comparable information on financial literacy is still scarce. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE)...

Financial literacy is gaining increasing importance as a policy objective in many countries. A growing literature has examined the role of financial literacy in an individual's income, saving behavior and the use of various financial products. However, so far, no one has examined the...

This study takes stock of the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the CAREC landlocked economies in terms of their access to finance resulting from demand-side, supply-side and institutional constraints. This includes identifying cultural, procedural, institutional...

Ever since the occurrence of the first oil shock, which struck the Japanese economy in 1973, Japan has made efforts to increase its energy efficiency, reduce its energy intensity, decrease its dependence on fossil fuels, and diversify its energy basket by introducing alternative energy sources,...

An energy resource as a production input plays a major role in various economic sectors, including commodity production, transportation, and electricity generation. However, increased energy consumption may lead to more air pollution, resulting in negative health impacts in a society. The main...

Rapid developments in financial technology (fintech) are expected to contribute to improvements in financial inclusion and well-being. This paper investigates how financial literacy and other factors contributed to the adoption of fintech services in Japan, using data from a survey conducted by...

Financial literacy is gaining increasing importance as a policy objective in many countries. A growing literature has examined the role of financial literacy in an individual's income, saving behavior, and the use of various financial products. However, so far, we are not aware of any studies of...

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus and the resulting falls in demand due both to uncertainty and policy interventions such as lockdowns, "social distancing", and travel restrictions are having a severe impact on Asian economies and hence on Asian households. These negative impacts come through a...

This paper provides an overview of productivity development and other related indicators in Asian-Pacific (APAC) countries, with comparisons with the Europe region. We use the seventh vintage firm-level data from the Productivity Research Network in the APAC region and CompNet in Europe for our...