Vertical intra-industry trade and foreign direct investment in East Asia

As economic integration in East Asia progresses, trade patterns within the region are displaying an ever-greater complexity: Though inter-industry trade still accounts for the majority, its share in overall trade is declining. Instead, intra-industry trade (IIT), which can be further divided into horizontal IIT (HIIT) and vertical IIT (VIIT), is growing in importance.In this paper, we set out to measure and examine vertical intra-industry trade patterns in the East Asian region and compare these with the results of previous studies focusing on the EU, to which such analyses so far have been confined. Based on the supposition that VIIT is closely related to offshore production by multinational enterprises, we then develop a model to capture the main determinants of VIIT that explicitly includes the role of FDI. The model is tested empirically using data from the electrical machinery industry. The findings support our hypothesis, showing that FDI plays a significant role in the rapid increase in VIIT in East Asia seen in recent years. J. Japanese Int. Economies 17 (4) (2003) 468–506.     

HOUSING POLICY FOR UTILIZATION OF EXISTING HOUSING

Existing housing is not fully utilized in Japan. We explore the problems that discourage the utilization of the existing housing. We present policy plans to solve these problems, and to activate the existing housing market. Our plans include using a hedonic price function to determine appropriate methods for valuing existing housing, introduction of latent defects insurance for existing houses for sale, encouraging the use of fixed‐term housing leases and an providing an intermediary service between the elderly and next users of their houses. Our plan will accelerate the utilization of existing housing and ease the process for the elderly of selling or leasing existing vacant housing.     

Regional patterns of employment changes of less-educated men in Japan: 1990–2007

We investigate regional patterns in employment of less-educated men in Japan from 1990 to 2007. The employment–population ratio of junior high school graduate men (9 years of compulsory schooling) decreased from 1990 to 2007. Wage growth across regions had a unique pattern during this period: it was high in the low-wage regions in the 1990s but high in the high-wage regions in the 2000s. We use these regional variations in wage growth to identify the labor supply elasticity of less-educated men. The estimated elasticity of the employment-to-population ratio of junior high school graduate men is around 0.15.     

Lifetime income and public pension: An analysis of the effect on redistribution using a two-period analysis

This paper examines the redistributive effect of public pension programs in the framework of a two-period analysis. Private saving is also considered for comparison purposes as an alternative to public pension for assuring consumption during retirement. An emphasis is placed on investigating the effect of the various formulae for the determination of both the benefit level and the contribution, with the additional purpose of examining the effect of a maximum limit. The Japanese pension systems are evaluated on the basis of the above model framework in comparison with the British system.     

Paradoxical trade patterns and terms of trade

It is shown that, when a monopoly is present in a two-country, two-commodity world, the terms-of-trade do not necessarily fall in between the pre-trade relative prices of the two countries, and that these pre-trade prices do not unequivocally determine the pattern of trade.     

The welfare effect of tariff rate reductions in a many country world

Consider a two-commodity n-country model without inferior goods where import tariffs are the only trade barriers. In this paper we establish that the world's welfare is improved if the country with the highest tariff rate unilaterally reduce its rate to the level of the second highest country or if all the countries of the world reduce tariff rates proportionally. The second rule serves as a theoretical justification of the Kennedy and Tokyo Round Tariff Reductions.     

Competition and nationally optimum resource allocation under the presence of urban traffic congestion

The present paper compares the market city size and the socially optimal city size in a model which allows for traffic congestion. It establishes that under the assumptions of constant returns to scale and perfect competition for commuter train companies, market forces alone will produce optimality in traffic congestion, in resource allocation for traffic facilities, and in the city size. The notion of optimality in this paper is in the sense of maximizing the welfare of the entire nation, rather than that of the city residents.     

The paradoxes of immiserizing growth and donor-enriching “recipient-immiserizing” transfers: A tale of two literatures

Zusammenfassung Das Paradoxon des Verelendungswachstums und das Paradoxon der den Geber bereichernden (den Empf?nger ?rmer machenden) Transfers: Eine Geschichte zweier Theorien. — Dieser Aufsatz soll eine Brücke schlagen zwischen zwei Str?mungen der theoretischen Literatur, nach der Wachstum paradoxerweise zur Verelendung führt und nach der ebenfalls paradoxerweise im Falle eines Transfers der Empf?nger von Leistungen an Wohlfahrt einbüΒt. Die spezifischen Fragen, die die beiden Gruppen der AuΒenhandels-theoretiker und mathematischen ?konomen stellen, reflektieren deren jeweilige Tradition. Die grundlegenden Theoreme, die abgeleitet werden, scheinen deshalb auf den ersten Blick nur wenig Beziehung zueinander zu haben. Sogar die Bedingungen, die aufgestellt werden, um in offensichtlich identischen Modellen die Paradoxa zu erreichen, scheinen gelegentlich unterschiedlich und widersprüchlich zu sein. Angesichts der zentralen Bedeutung dieser Ph?nomene und ihrer Analyse für mehrere wichtige Bereiche von Theorie und Politik bedarf der Gegenstand des vorliegenden Aufsatzes kaum noch einer Rechtfertigung.

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Résumé Les paradoxes de la croissance d’appauvrissement et des transferts enrichissants les donateurs (appauvrissants les récepteurs): un essai de deux littératures. — Dans cet article l’auteur essaie de réconcilier deux courants de la littérature théoretique sur la possibilité paradoxe d’une croissance d’appauvrissement et la possibilité paradoxe d’un récepteur appauvrissant ou d’un donateur enrichissant si un donateur fait des transferts. Les questions précises adressées par les théoriciens ont reflété leurs traditions correspondantes. C’est pourqoui, á première vue, les théorèmes centraux dérivés par eux semblent avoir peu de rapport l’un avec l’autre. Même les conditions établies pour obtenir les paradoxes semblent être des fois différentes et contradictoires oú l’on croit d’avoir des modèles identiques. En vue de l’importance centrale de ces phénomènes et de leur analyse pour quelques aspects décisifs de la théorie et de la politique il ne faut guère justifier le but de cet article.

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Resumen Las paradojas del crecimiento empobrecedor y transferencias enriquecedoras del donante (empobrecedoras del receptor): un relato de dos literaturas. — El présente artfculo esta disenada para construir un puente entre dos literaturas sobre la posibilidad parad?jica de crecimiento empobrecedor y la posibilidad parad?jica de un receptor empobrecido. Las preguntas précisas formuladas por los dos conjuntos de teóricos han reflejado sus respectivas tradiciones. Los teoremas centrales derivados por ellos, por lo tanto, parecen tener a primera vista poca relacion entre ellos. Incluso las condiciones establecidas para la obtención de las paradojas, en lo que surgen ser modelos idénticos, parecen ser a momentos diferentes y contradictorias. En vista de la importancia central de estos fenómenos y su analisis, para varias areas criticas de la teoria y la politica, el objetivo del présente articulo practicamente no necesita ser justificado.