This paper investigates the statistical measurement of income distribution and evaluates the income redistribution effect of income tax system in Japan, using National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure 1984-2004. This paper finds first that income inequality has been widening over time,...

Based on a primary survey of cycle rickshaw pullers and rickshaw owners in Delhi, India, this paper estimates the causal impact of the opening and extension of Delhi Metro on the rental rates of cycle rickshaws. The cycle rickshaw rental market provides employment opportunities for unskilled,...

In this paper, we explore the structure and implications of interbank networks in prewar Japan, focusing on director interlocking. We find that approximately half the banks had at least one connection with another bank through director interlocking, and that a bank that had connections with...

A recent issue in the microfinance literature is whether microfinance institutions (MFIs) are financially sustainable without a subsidy as a prerequisite for competition policy or commercialization processes. Although some recent studies have proposed relevant theoretical frameworks, empirical...

How disaster aid is allocated within poor villages is little understood. This paper examines risk-sharing institutions and social hierarchies as village self-allocation mechanisms. Original survey data from Fiji contain rich information about cyclone damage, traditional kin status, and aid...

This paper provides an overview of the sustainability of Japan’s government debt, emphasizing the viewpoint of market participants in the Japanese government bonds (JGB) market. The Japanese government will be able to finance its debt as long as current surpluses continue, meaning there is...

This paper investigates the optimal dynamic paths of trade protection imposed on infant industries during the process of joining a free trade agreement. The framework is based on the dynamic learning-by-doing model developed in Melitz (2005), where industries are experiencing dynamic...

This paper proposes new point estimates for predictive regressions. Our estimates are easily obtained by the least squares and the instrumental variable methods. Our estimates, called the plug-in estimates, have nice asymptotic properties such as median unbiasedness and the approximated...

This paper applies the time-varying parameter vector autoregressive model to the Japanese economy. The both parameters and volatilities, which are assumed to follow a random-walk process, are estimated using a Bayesian method with MCMC. The recursive structure is assumed for identification and...