Studies using dynamic panel regression approach have found a high speed of income convergence among the world and the regional economies. For example, Lee <italic>et al.</italic> (1997, 1998) report 30% per annum. This note argues that their estimates of the convergence speed can be seriously overstated. Using a...

This article investigates Schkade and Kahneman's (1998) maxim that ‘Nothing in life is quite as important as you think it is while you are thinking about it.’ This article shows that whilst becoming unemployed hurts psychologically, unemployment has a greater impact on happiness if the...

Empirical results using Japanese data suggest that social trust improves student language and mathematics achievement test scores in primary and junior high school. After controlling for endogeneity bias, social trust had a greater effect on scores for primary school students than on scores for...

In this article, I explore the extent to which the rational addiction model developed by Becker and Murphy (1988) can account for cinema attendance, using panel data from 47 Japanese prefectures for the years 1994-1998. Controlling for unobserved prefecture-specific fixed effects and an...

I used the national panel data of Japan to investigate the determinants of suicide. The major findings are twofold. First, the social capital that enhances community integration had a greater effect on the suicide of females than that of males. This is probably because females are less likely to...

In this article, I explore the interaction effects of social networks and local spillovers in the diffusion of computers using the panel data from 47 Japanese prefectures for the years 1988-2000. Controlling for unobserved prefecture-specific fixed effects and an endogeneity bias of the lagged...

The seminal work of Gerschenkron (1962) stated that latecomers borrow advanced technology from their predecessors, resulting in convergence of productivity among nations. Additionally, the diffusion of technology among developing nations has been fulfilled not only directly from developed...