The role of schedule delays on passengers’ choice of access modes: A case study of Japan’s international hub airports

We empirically study passenger modal-choice behavior to access an international hub airport, by using stated preference (SP) data and by constructing a binomial logit model. We found that passenger modal choice is affected by the service level of the access modes: travel time, travel cost, waiting time, and delay cost. The results also indicate that if passengers choose access mode in advance they consider service frequency: departure timing from home, and the arrival timing at the airport. Moreover, our results indicate that travelers’ willingness to pay for saving time differs by time of a day. They are apt to pay more in the morning than in the afternoon. These outcomes must contribute to improve the access flight service from local to hub airports to handle the needs of passengers.     

Micro-foundation for a constant elasticity of substitution production function through mechanization

We consider an increase in the range of capital use as a form of mechanization. A constant elasticity of substitution (CES) production function is dynamically derived from Leontief production functions through the endogenous complementary relationship between capital accumulation and mechanization. This implies that a CES production function can be resolved into technological change that does not involve changes in total factor productivity. Furthermore, using the normalizing procedure of the CES production function developed by de La Grandville [de La Grandville, O., 1989. In quest of the Slutsky diamond. American Economic Review 79, 468–481], we investigate how mechanization is related to the elasticity of substitution in our endogenous growth model.     

Unobserved heterogeneity in price-setting behavior: A duration analysis approach

There is strong empirical evidence that the degree of price stickiness differs across commodity items, and that the nonparametric hazard function of price changes is downward-sloping with some spikes. We introduce item-specific heterogeneity into the standard single-sector model of Calvo [Calvo, G., 1983. Staggered prices in a utility-maximizing framework. Journal of Monetary Economics 12 (3), 383–398]. By allowing the hazard rate of price changes to vary across items, we show that the decreasing nonparametric hazard function is well described except for the characteristic peaks at 1, 12, 24, and 36 months. We reject the hypothesis that the degree of price stickiness is the same across the items at 1 percent of significance. In the presence of item-specific heterogeneity, the probability that prices remain unchanged for long periods is higher than the single-sector model predicts.     

Two Types of Disagreement in Group Discussions of Japanese Undergraduates

In this study we investigated the nature of disagreement, which is a necessary component of a good discussion. We obtained 27 group discussion scenes by Japanese undergraduates that were evaluated by two ways: impression rating and ranking. As a result of factor analysis for the impression rating data, five factors were extracted: activeness, multidirection and unification of discussion, relationships of participants, development and sophistication of discussion, and sincerity of the participants, and each factor scores of each scene was simultaneously calculated. Each scene’s rank score was also calculated by relative comparisons. A significant positive correlation was found between the mean factor and the rank scores except for Factor 3 (relationships of participants). To consider the reason for the difference relating to Factor 3’s score, we scrutinized the discussion process of four scenes of the different patterns of the factor and rank scores. From the analysis of conversations, we suggested that this difference reflected ways of disagreement. By introducing a probative discourse tags for discussion (pDTD), we reasoned that the frequency of disagreement made Factor 3’s score negative and the absence of the second part of adjacency pairs made the rank score worse. The explicit speech and actions of blame such as emotional and aggressive expression, and neglect of treatment for the minor opinion made also the discussion unfair, but we think that these behaviors might erupt from the ground made by the accumulated implicit behaviors such as the absence of the second part. We finally concluded that the criticism type of disagreement increased the rank scores, and its censure type produced lower results, and the proper ways of disagreement in group discussions were discussed.     

Dynamics of quote and deal prices in the foreign exchange market

We empirically investigate price fluctuations of yen-dollar exchange rate using the high-frequency data recorded in the electronic broking system for seven-year period. The distribution of quote price changes has symmetric fat-tails approximated by a power law; however, that of deal price is asymmetrical. The autocorrelation function and diffusion of price changes indicate that quote price exhibits anti-correlation feature in short time scale, whereas deal price is essentially uncorrelated. The bid-ask spread shows power-law distribution and long range temporal correlations similar to that observed in absoute price changes.      

New challenges for Japanese multinationals: Is organization adaptation their achilles heel?

As the number, size, and complexity of Japanese multinational companies' (MNCs) overseas operations increase, many of them have begun to realize that they face some fundamental and difficult organizational challenges. Drawing on research undertaken with several large and successful Japanese MNCs, the authors define the nature and source of some of these organizational challenges, and describe some approaches that can be taken to resolving them. The article starts with a brief assessment of the traditional organizational capabilities and existing managerial approaches of Japanese companies, comparing them to the emerging challenges in the international environment. Then, after identifying some constraints and barriers to an effective response to the new demands, the authors propose a series of actions to overcome the problems.     

Who Survives in Japan? An Empirical Analysis of European and U.S. Multinational Firms in Japanese Manufacturing Industries

This paper provides new evidence on exit patterns of European and U.S. firms in Japanese manufacturing industries. Specifically, the paper tests two sets of hypotheses: (1) Japans distinctive business institutions and practices work against foreign firms and constitute a barrier to operate in Japan; and (2) the international configuration of business activities of foreign firms determines their post-entry performance in Japan. Using a new sample of 366 subsidiaries established during the 1973–1994 period in Japan, the paper finds, most importantly, that the exit pattern of foreign firms in Japan is influenced significantly by the industry-specific factors that determine infant mortalities and the subsidiary-specific factors that determine the subsidiarys international activities. On the contrary, this paper finds that Japans distinctive business practices are less likely to affect the exit pattern.     

Network motifs in an inter-firm network

Firms build business relationships during economic activities. The goal of this paper is to clarify production mechanisms and economic functions by identifying characteristic patterns of inter-firm interactions. In this paper, we empirically analyze an inter-firm network consisting of about one million firms and four million directed links, in order to specify network motifs, which are small subgraphs that occur more frequently than expected in a randomly generated network. We found that V-shaped triads are network motifs, while feedforward and feedback loop are anti-motifs. By defining roles in the subgraph according to structural equivalence, we also detected the significance profile of roles characterizing the industry sector. The taxonomy of industries obtained from the profiles is economically meaningful. These empirical findings may serve to provide an easily interpretable view of the entire inter-firm network and to improve the efficiency and safety of economic systems.     

The impact of rising EU Allowance prices on core inflation in the Eurozone

This article examines the impact of EU Allowance (EUA) prices on core inflation in the Eurozone between 2005 and 2022. The empirical results suggest that a positive shock to the EUA price led to higher long-run inflation expectations and core inflation. This implies that the rise in EUA prices can be passed on to consumers and enterprises, leading to an increase in production costs and consumer prices. And, while a positive shock to EUA prices may promote investment in renewable energy in the short term, the impact is not statistically significant and does not last long. The results suggest considerable potential for European policymakers to re-examine policy mechanisms to accelerate renewable energy investment and maintain price stability in the medium term.