This paper evaluates the quality and efficiency of the at-home long-term care market in Japan, a market in which for-profit enterprises were allowed to enter after the introduction of the long-term care insurance in Spring of 2000. We take advantage of data from a unique self-conducted survey to...

This study examines retirement decisions in Japan, using the option value (OV) model proposed by Stock and Wise (1990) and examined by subsequent studies. This model assumes that individuals maximize a weighted average of utility from their labor income until retirement as well as that from...

This paper explores the public pension claiming behavior of the Japanese. First, we perform financial simulations and estimate the expected utility, depicting the typical patterns of pension benefits in a lifecycle model. We show that the optimal retirement age depends on the beneficiaries'...

Using panel data from two surveys in Japan and Europe, we examine the comparability of the self-rated health (SRH) of the middle-aged and elderly across Japan and the European countries and the survey periods. We find that a person's own health is evaluated on different standards (thresholds)...

This paper provides an overview of the first wave of the Japanese Study of Ageing and Retirement (hereafter "JSTAR"). Using this rich and unique dataset, we describe in detail how middle-aged and elderly Japanese live in terms of economic, social, health, and family status. In this project, our...

This paper investigates the impact of overseas subsidiaries' R&D activities on the productivity growth of parent firms using firm-level panel data for Japanese multinational enterprises. We distinguish between overseas R&D for the utilization and acquisition of foreign advanced knowledge, or...

This paper exploits a notable institutional feature of salary payments in Japan, the bonus system, to examine whether households smooth consumption under large and regular income changes. Using high quality household-level data from the Japanese Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES), our...

This paper explores what factors determine the nature, extent, and location of Japanese multinationals' R&D activities abroad. Taking advantage of a rich micro-level dataset from the survey on Japanese overseas subsidiaries, the study distinguishes between two types of overseas R&D: innovative...

While the average retirement age is higher in Japan, the retirement process has not been in-depth explored from multiple factors including economic, health and family statuses. We examine the transition of work status and working hours for Japanese males and females using JSTAR (Japanese Study...

This study explores stability of preference against aging and health shocks. Contrary to a vast amount of literature assuming that risk attitude is unchanged over time, we utilize JSTAR (Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement), which provides longitudinal data on the middle aged and elderly...