Contrary to the objective of a major corporate pension reform in Japan to enhance retirement income security, and despite the increased relative tax benefits of externally-funded plans, the number of firms that do not sponsor externally-funded defined benefit plans or defined contribution plans...

We investigate the significant effects of the September 11 attacks on the Japanese stock market, one of the largest markets in the world. Although several studies have examined the impact of the attacks on the domestic U.S. stock market, few studies have analyzed their impact on the foreign...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether insurers could have a strong motivation for M&A in the future because they need to survive within the industry under oversaturated market conditions. Recently, Japanese non-life insurance markets, mainly the automobile insurance market,...

A regime shift in the inflation process is the collective outcome of shifts in individual agents' rational expectations resulting from an important policy initiative. Taking this view, we find decisive evidence of a shift in the inflation process during the Volcker experiment reflecting the...

When a firm exercises discretion to disclose or withhold information (strategic disclosure), risk-averse investors command higher expected returns when expected cash flows decrease, producing a negative correlation between these expectations. Moreover, stock returns exhibit stronger reversal...

When a firm exercises discretion to disclose or withhold information (strategic disclosure), risk-averse investors command higher expected returns when expected cash flows decrease, producing a negative correlation between these expectations. Moreover, stock returns exhibit stronger reversal...

We find that between 20 and 25 percent of the negative covariance between excess returns and inflation is explained by shocks to monetary policy variables. The finding is robust to changes in the monetary policy rule that have occurred during the 1966-2000 period. The result contradicts the...

We find that between 20 and 25 percent of the negative covariance between excess returns and inflation is explained by shocks to monetary policy variables. The finding is robust to changes in the monetary policy rule that have occured during the 1966-1998 period. The result contradicts the...