We examine the impact of the strength of host countries' university research and university-industry collaboration on the propensity of Japanese multinational firms to conduct research and development (R&D) activities in these countries. We consider heterogeneous effects based on the type of R&D...

In this paper, we investigate why information and communication technology (ICT) investment in Japan has stagnated since the 1990s. Given that a notable characteristic of Japan's economy is that small as well as older firms play a much greater role than in other economies, particularly that of...

In a country such as China, which maintains strict controls on foreign exchange and frequently intervenes in the currency market, it is not surprising that the local currency is persistently undervalued in nominal terms. Normally, one would expect such a policy of deliberate currency...

As the manufacturing sectors of developed economies increasingly outsource to developing economies, a serious measurement problem, or "offshoring bias" (Houseman et al. 2011), may arise. If a manufacturing industry or firm procures many parts and components from developing economies at...

The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 had a serious negative impact on the Japanese economy. The earthquake reduced production substantially not only in the regions that were directly affected but also throughout Japan via the disruption of supply chains. The meltdowns at the...

In a country such as China, which maintains strict controls on foreign exchange and frequently intervenes in the currency market, it is not surprising that the local currency is persistently undervalued in nominal terms. Normally, one would expect such a policy of deliberate currency...

This paper describes the construction of the Regional-Level Japan Industrial Productivity Database (R-JIP), which covers the period from 1970 through 2008 and comprises annual industrial output and factor input data of Japan's 47 prefectures classified by 23 industry. Output is measured in terms...

The role of buyers and suppliers has received little attention in the literature on research and development (R&D) spillovers and productivity, which has focused primarily on the moderating roles of technological and geographic proximity. In this study, we examine R&D spillovers that result from...

Using micro-data of the <i>Establishment and Enterprise Census and the Basic Survey of Japanese Business Structure and Activities</i>, we examine the characteristics of firms that were active in jobs creation, capital accumulation, and the improvement of total factor productivity (TFP). We also analyze...

Using unique Japanese firm-level data for the <i>Financial Statements Statistics of Corporations by Industry</i> for 1982-2007, we observed TFP trends in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries. Our results can be summarized as follows. First, TFP growth in the non-manufacturing...