Using two-period panel data from the Nippon Life Insurance Research Institute, this paper tests the hypothesis that an increase in the self-pay ratio of medical expenditures associated with the Japanese health insurance reforms of April 2003 reduced household medical expenditures. We find that...

In this paper, we investigate what people in Japan consider when deciding to take the influenza vaccination. We develop an economic model to explain the mechanism by which people decide to take the influenza vaccination. Using our model and the data obtained from a large-scale survey we...

In this paper we analyze the relation between the preferred prefecture to live and their regional characteristics in Japan using the data of questionnaire survey conducted by GCOE program of Osaka University in 2009 and 2010. We found: 1) Most people are satisfied with the current residential...

Using archival data published in 2003 and 2007, we investigated factors that influence the change of nationality of the most senior executives in foreign affiliates of MNCs operating in Japan. Our results show that as the length of operation in Japan increases, the likelihood of a non-Japanese...

This paper investigates how people decide to take influenza vaccination in Japan. Using a large-scale survey, we found that people decide rationally, considering the costs and benefits of vaccination. Specifically, people take into account the probability of infection, severity of the disease,...

Using two-period panel data from the Nippon Life Insurance Research Institute, this paper tests the hypothesis that an increase in the self-pay ratio of medical expenditures associated with the Japanese health insurance reforms of April 2003 reduced individual medical costs. We find that the...

This study empirically analyzed downward nominal wage rigidity using time-series cross-industry data from 1981 to 2002, a period which included deflation. We found that nominal wages remained rigid to downward pressure by expected deflation and labor-market tightness. Estimations according to...

In this paper we estimate the regional disparity of income and happiness between prefectures using the results of questionnaire survey conducted by 21st Century COE program of Osaka University from 2003 to 2006. We found the followings. 1) Three measures of disparity, multiple comparisons,...