Health Infrastructure, Demographic Transition and Growth

Empirical studies show that the fertility rate (mortality rate) exhibits an inverted u‐shaped dynamic in some countries, while it decreases monotonically in other countries. This paper formulates the concept of public health infrastructure and constructs a growth model that replicates various historically observed patterns of fertility and mortality rates.     

Determining the optimal scheme of zoned effluent charges for the control of air pollution

A minimum costly zoned effluent charge program for the control of air pollution is considered paying attention to the general situation where polluters' cost functions of treating pollutant are unknown to the policy authority, and an iterative procedure by which the authority can attain a set of optimal charges is presented. The algorithm consists of steps of estimating the unknown treatment cost functions by observing polluter behavior and steps of revising charges based on the estimated cost functions. In the latter steps, a newly developed solution procedure for the zoned charge programming problem is involved. Simulated use of the algorithm indicates that the iterative charge revision procedure proposed in this paper can effectively provide the optimal scheme of zoned effluent charges.     

IS MINIMUM WAGE AN EFFECTIVE ANTI‐POVERTY POLICY IN JAPAN?

This paper considers whether the minimum wage is a well‐targeted antipoverty policy by examining the backgrounds of minimum‐wage workers. Whether raising the minimum wage reduces employment for unskilled workers is also investigated. An examination of micro data from a large‐scale government household survey, the Employment Structure Survey (Shugyo Kozo Kihon Chosa), reveals that approximately half of minimum‐wage workers belong to households with annual incomes of more than 5 million yen as a non‐head of household. A regression analysis indicates that an increase in the minimum wage moderately reduces the employment of male teenagers and middle‐aged married women, while it encourages the employment of high‐school age youth.     

Why Does the Problem Persist? ‘Rational Rigidity’ and the Plight of Japanese Banks

One of the most perplexing factors in the Japanese financial crisis is the apparently non‐optimal and non‐rational behaviour of Japanese banks. We provide a “rational” explanation for bank behaviour based on a theory of community banking that incorporates Japanese institutional characteristics. We find three implications of community banking – a low lending rate, a low bankruptcy rate, and in particular, institutionalisation of ‘rational rigidity’ (an institutional pledge of no profit maximisation) – in Japanese banks. We argue that this type of banking is viable as long as the economy expands and asset prices go up, which was the case before the asset‐market crash in 1990. The stagnation and free‐fall of asset prices in the 1990s exerted tremendous pressure on Japanese banks but did not paralyse them completely in the 1990s, although there are indications that they failed to restructure distressed large corporations in some sectors, notably real estate. Thus, the problem is not that paralysed banks are blocking recovery, but that their current institutionalised rigidity in banking practices is no longer viable because private enterprises in the market economy are suffering from asset‐price deflation and economic stagnation.     

Do ‘Boss Effects’ Exist in Japanese Companies? Evidence from Subordinate–Supervisor Matched Panel Data*

This article investigates whether supervisors can significantly enhance their subordinates' performance using a five‐waves panel dataset from a medium‐sized Japanese firm comprising around 400 employees. The dataset includes all regular non‐managerial employees working in one manufacturing company. About 40 supervisors were matched to their subordinates, and the evaluation outcomes were used to evaluate the worker performance. The results showed that supervisor effects were heterogeneous, displayed a one‐year lag, and lasted for two years. We proved the existence of the supervisor effect on current performance, by using current supervisor dummies or past supervisor dummies. Irrespective of the supervisor being switched, the effect of the past supervisor on workers’ current performance continues to exist. It was also found that these effects remained significant, even when workers were assigned new/different supervisors.     

Employee preference for performance-related pay: predictors and consequences for organizational citizenship behaviour in a Japanese firm

Research on performance-related pay (PRP) has largely focused on the outcomes of PRP implementation in a Western context. This paper examines the predictors of employee preference for PRP and the consequences for organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in Japan where seniority-based pay and teamwork have long been the norm. The sample consists of 155 sales representatives in a large electric appliance manufacturing company that was transitioning from a seniority-based to a PRP-based compensation system. Overall, respondents indicated a preference for PRP over seniority-based pay. The hierarchical regression results indicate that employee preference for PRP is positively and significantly associated with individual competitiveness and occupational commitment, while being negatively and significantly related to organizational commitment and to the age group of employees who joined the labour market prior to the bursting of the economic bubble in Japan. No significant relationship was observed between PRP preference and OCB in the hierarchical regression analysis, although the two are positively and significantly correlated contrary to our expectations. Implications for international human resource management are discussed.     

Advertising Functional Foods: The Effects of Physical Body Size and Appeal Type on Ad Credibility and Purchase Intentions

When advertising functional foods, whether these are in solid or liquid form, marketers can choose different appeal types in combination with different endorser characteristics. In this research study, the authors examine how the credibility of such an ad and purchase intentions for the advertised product are influenced by the physical body size of the endorser and the appeal type used. Based on a 2 × 2 full factorial design, they find that in an ad for an energy drink, endorser body size has an effect on both of these dependent variables, while no differences are found between a functional and an emotional appeal.     

What the Millennial Generation from Around the World Prefers in Their Meetings,Conventions, and Events

The extant research relates to what the Millennial generation prefers in their meetings and events. The focus of this paper is to compare the wants and needs of Millennials from five different continents to ascertain similarities and differences. This is the largest study ever done of Millennials with regard to meetings and events. While some differences were uncovered, it was found that Millennials are a very homogeneous group. Thus, event professionals can use similar strategies when targeting this group. However, it was also found that there were some differences in specific areas and event professionals would do well to ascertain their mix of attendees by national origin and then apply the most significant findings of the research at hand.