Empirical results through a fixed effects regression model show that government size has a negative effect on growth mainly through hampering capital accumulation. When a sample is divided into OECD and non-OECD countries, the negative effect of government size on capital accumulation persists...

There is controversy between Putnam and Olson concerning the role of groups. Putnam argued that small groups contribute to economic growth, whereas Olson asserted that small groups hamper economic growth through rent-seeking behavior. Since the end of the 1990s in Japan, there has been a...

Using Japan’s prefecture-level panel data from 1989-2001, this paper examines the influence of the social norm on a person’s smoking behavior when the complementary relationship between smoking and drinking is taken into account. The key findings through a dynamic panel model controlling for...

Japan’s new bar examination has been administered since 2006. This paper attempts to analyze how professors selected as members of the committee (The Justice Ministry's committee of the new national bar examination) influence the results of the examination. I use a panel data set to control...

In the Japanese Professional Baseball League, the starting pitcher is announced prior to the game in the Pacific League but not in the Central League. I attempt to investigate how the release of information concerning a starting pitcher prior to the game affects attendance. My major findings...

Japanese prefecture level panel data for the period 1986–2003 was used to analyze and compare the determinants of teenage body mass index (BMI) by sex. Major findings through random effects estimation were as follows: (1) BMI consistently increased during the period in males aged 10–16 and...

This paper explores how social capital is related with self-rated health status in Japan and how this relationship is affected by gender, using data for 3075 adult participants in the 2000 Social Policy and Social Consciousness (SPSC) survey. Controlling for endogenous bias, unobserved city...

This paper used individual level data in Japan to explore how a complainant’s past trial experience influences their satisfaction and incentive to bring a future lawsuit. Controlling for kinds of incidents and a complainant’s individual characteristics, the major findings were; (1) there is a...

This paper explores, using Japanese panel data for the years 1988-2002, how externalities from congestion and human capital influence deaths caused by chronic illnesses. Major findings through fixed effects 2SLS estimation were as follows: (1) the number of deaths were smaller in more...

Using Japanese prefecture-level data for the years 1979 and 1996, I explore the extent to which inequality, age heterogeneity, and human capital have an effect upon neighborhood trust, which is ordinarily considered as a kind of particularized trust. The major findings are as follows: (1) Income...