We investigate moral-hazard problems with limited liability where agents have expectation-based reference-dependent preferences. We show that stochastic compensation for low performance can be optimal. Because of loss aversion, the agents have first-order risk aversion to wage uncertainty. This...

Applying a standard model of endogenous quality choice to the case of multiple national markets (i.e., a developed and a less developed country), we consider the effect of an economic integration (i.e., a movement from segmented markets into a single integrated market through the removal of...

This paper develops a two-country general equilibrium model to examine the welfare effect of tariff-tax reforms that fix the world price. We show that this reform improves welfare if an origin tax is adjusted, but that it reduces welfare if a destination tax is used. Moreover, this result is...

Some economically developed countries are suffering from an aging society with fewer children, which has brought about greater burdens imposed by social security. A child allowance and child-care services are provided by the governments in these countries to raise fertility. An increase in...

We first report three empirical findings from our survey on the contracting-out of municipal waste collection services in Japan: 1) the rate of contracting-out and the contract price are inversely related, 2) this inverse relationship tapers out as the contracting rate becomes sufficiently high,...

By focusing on the constructive and combative spillover effects of the firms’ investment in research and development (R&D), we develop a horizontally differentiated duopoly model in which R&D investment used to improve product quality influences consumer preferences and the choice of...

This paper presents consideration of how a subsidy for the elderly care services should be financed in terms of income growth and social welfare. An increase in the tax burden for older people and firm with a decrease in the tax burden for young people can raise the income growth rate. However,...

This paper discusses how to deal with low-valued recyclable residual wastes whose reprocessing itself does not pay financially. While such a recycling activity can potentially improve the social welfare if the environmental costs associated with its disposal are sufficiently significant,...

We develop a Hotelling model of horizontally and vertically differentiated brands with misleading advertising competition. We investigate the question of who benefits or loses from the misinformation created by advertising competition and related regulatory policies. We show that the quality...

Using a simple two-period model, this paper examines the effects of the acquisition of mines/resources by a final goods producer located in a resource-importing country on resource prices in both the first (the present) and second (the future) periods, profits of firms, and welfare. We find that...