This paper examines the role of Japan against that of China in the exchange rate regime in East Asia in light of growing interest in forming a currency union in the region. The analysis suggests that currency unions with China tend to generate higher average welfare gains for East Asian...

The paper uses a dynamic panel data model to estimate the pass-through coefficients of 20 nine-digit industrial commodities that are traded between Japan and its East Asian trading partners to investigate the response of tradable goods prices to exchange rate movements. By using the monthly...

Both Japan and Korea are trying to boost female labor force participation (FLFP) as they face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. Though FLFP has generally been on a rising trend, the female labor force in both countries is skewed towards non-regular employment despite women's high...

Using domestic and export price data and a framework of markup over cost, pricing behavior of U.S. and Japanese manufacturers is compared. Major export industries in Japan have higher productivity growth and lower pass-through coefficients than American exporters, who tend to price to domestic...

We assess the ongoing reform efforts in Japan in terms of inclusive growth. We use prefectural level panel data to regress a measure of inclusive growth, which incorporates both average income growth and income inequality, on macroeconomic and policy variables. Our analysis suggests that...

We trace Japanese corporate investment across different types of firms over the past decades and estimate the main determinants of investment. We find that there are differences in investment behavior between firms expanding abroad and those operating mainly in domestic markets. On the back of a...

This paper draws out the parallels between Korea and Japan in terms of demographics, potential growth, balance sheets, asset prices and inflation. Korea's demographic trends seem to track Japan's with a lag of about 20 years. Low productivity in the service sector and labor market duality are...

This paper uses vector autoregressions (VARs) to investigate four explanations of the extended slump in Japanese economic activity during the 1990s: the absence of bold and consistent fiscal stimulus; limited room for expansionary monetary policy because of a liquidity trap; asset price...