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Life-Cycle Earnings Profiles, Informality, Inequality and Impacts of COVID-19 in Developing Economies

Research Project

Project/Area Number 21K01439
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Review Section Basic Section 07040:Economic policy-related
Research InstitutionNational Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

Principal Investigator

Hsu Minchung  政策研究大学院大学, 政策研究科, 教授 (20467062)

Project Period (FY) 2021-04-01 – 2025-03-31
Project Status Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
Budget Amount *help
¥4,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥960,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Keywordsgender wage gap / life-cycle earnings / informal employment / inequality / life cycle income profie / Lifecycle earnings / Informal employment / developing countries
Outline of Research at the Start

This project aims to study life-cycle income profiles, uncertainties and inequalities in both formal and informal sectors in developing economies and in Japan, based on micro-level data. The impacts of COVID-19 on inequalities over the life cycle and between formal/informal sectors will be also discussed.

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

In FY2023, We worked on the gender wage gap issue in Japan. Our study delves into the examination of the gender wage gap over age in Japan following Goldin et al. (2017). Using the Basic Survey on Wage Structure (BSWS) data, the study aims to understand how the gap evolves over time and provides insights into its sources in Japan. The findings indicate that the wage gap widens significantly with age and is most pronounced among highly educated individuals. Additionally, our study reveals that the gap for high-education workers lessens when controlling for manager-level positions, suggesting that a significant portion of the wage gap for the high-education can be ascribed to the under-representation of women in these roles.

Current Status of Research Progress
Current Status of Research Progress

2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.

Reason

We have collected individual-level data from the Basic Survey of Wage Structure (BSWS), an annual survey conducted by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). The BSWS comprehensively surveys wages across all industries in Japan.
With permission from the MHLW, this study utilized BSWS data from 2005 to 2019. The BSWS data has several advantages, such as wage and working hour records based on payroll rather than self-reporting, providing accurate data on monthly wages, overtime pay, bonuses, benefits, hours worked, and overtime.
We have cleaned the data, implemented empirical analysis and had reasonable benchmark results.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

Given the empirical framework, we plan to test 3 possible factors causing the patterns of the gender wage gap in Japan:
1) regular job position (women might tend to work in non-regular positions to have more flexibility);
2) long working hours for high-pay jobs (women might opt out from high-pay jobs requiring long hours);
3) managerial positions (women might have fewer chances to be appointed as managers)

Report

(3 results)
  • 2023 Research-status Report
  • 2022 Research-status Report
  • 2021 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (8 results)

All 2024 2023 2022 2021

All Journal Article (1 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 1 results,  Peer Reviewed: 1 results,  Open Access: 1 results) Presentation (7 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 3 results,  Invited: 4 results)

  • [Journal Article] Fertility Decisions and the Norm of Intergenerational Support to Aging Parents2024

    • Author(s)
      Minchung Hsu and Trang Le
    • Journal Title

      International Studies of Economics

      Volume: 19-1 Issue: 1 Pages: 151-165

    • DOI

      10.1002/ise3.73

    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Pension Expansion in Low-Income Developing Countries: Government-Sponsored Matching-Contribution Schemes and Annuitization2023

    • Author(s)
      Minchung Hsu
    • Organizer
      2023 Asia Meeting of Econometric Society
    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Consumption Inequality and Risk Sharing over the Life Cycle in Developing Economies2023

    • Author(s)
      Minchung Hsu
    • Organizer
      14th Biennial Conference of Asian Consumer and Family Economics Association (ACFEA)
    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Pension Expansion in Low-Income Developing Countries: Government-Sponsored Matching-Contribution Schemes and Annuitization2023

    • Author(s)
      Minchung Hsu
    • Organizer
      WEA International Conference
    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Long-term Care for Married and Single Individuals2022

    • Author(s)
      Minchung Hsu
    • Organizer
      Macroeconomics Workshop, Kobe University
    • Related Report
      2022 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] Long-term Care for Married and Single Individuals2022

    • Author(s)
      Minchung Hsu
    • Organizer
      Economics Seminar, Tohoku University
    • Related Report
      2022 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] Marriage, Fertility, and Female Labor Participation in Japan2021

    • Author(s)
      Minchung Hsu
    • Organizer
      Invited Lecture at National Taipei University
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] Inequality in Japan: Role of Population Aging2021

    • Author(s)
      Minchung Hsu
    • Organizer
      Invited Lecture at National Chi-Nan International University
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Invited

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Published: 2021-04-28   Modified: 2024-12-25  

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