| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
HORIOKA Charles Yuji Osaka University, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Professor, 社会経済研究所, 教授 (90173632)
SAWADA Yasuyuki University of Tokyo, Faculty of Economics, Associate Professor, 大学院・経済学研究科, 助教授 (40322078)
NOMURA Junichi Yamaguchi University, Faculty of Economics, Associate Professor, 経済学部, 助教授 (70311321)
YAMASHITA Shoichi International Centre for the Study of East Asian Development, Director, 所長 (20127731)
周 燕飛 労働政策研究, 研修機構, 研究員
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Movshuk studied the life-cycle hypothesis of consumption behavior, particularly how age affects household savings. He suggested a new non-parametric approach to identify the age effect on savings, and applied the approach to micro data in Japan, the United States, England, Italy and Taiwan, and Thailand. Compared with results from traditional approaches to identify the age effect, the new approach produced estimates that were in more agreement with the life-cycle theory.
Horioka researched consumption and saving behavior by using the micro data for Japan, and obtained three major results. First, the saving behavior showed negative savings for individuals who were in the old age and retired. Second, the Japanese saving rate is no longer as high as it was in the past ; besides, the household debt is growing rapidly. Third, during the prolonged recession in the 1990s, the stagnant private consumption greatly worsened the business conditions, and complicated the implementation of economic policies in Japan.
Sawada used panel data for Korean households, and studied how monetary crises affected household consumption. The study found that households coped with increased risk by reducing private transfers and the consumption of luxury goods. Sawada also analyzed why poverty declined in the Philippines during the 1990s, and found that this can be explained not by differences in land assets, but by the variation in the human capital and in non-agricultural income.
Nomura verified the liquidity constraint by using Japanese micro data, and found that household loans are affected by various life events (such as marriage, childbirth, children's education), making it important to include such events in the standard life-cycle theory.
Yamashita's research focused on income disparities and poverty in East Asian economies after the Asian financial crises, and on effects from social security policies to reduce the negative consequences of the financial crisis.
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