A full characterization of nash implementation with strategy space reduction

The paper fully characterizes the class of Nash implementable social choice correspondences (SCCs) by mechanisms endowed with Saijo’s message space specification— $s$ -mechanisms. This class of SCCs is equivalent to the class of Nash implementable SCCs, though any game form involving ‘one less’ preference announcements breaks this equivalence relationship down.     

Accounting Frauds and Main-Bank Monitoring in Japanese Corporations

This study examines whether the delegated monitoring of main banks effectively decreases severe agency problems. For example, this includes accounting fraud in bank-dominated corporate governance. In this context, the fraud triangle specifies the three main factors of opportunity, incentive, and rationalization. Main banks may reduce the factor of opportunity through actions such as monitoring, which plays a moderating role by reducing the potential for managerial misconduct, whereas, the incentive factor may be enhanced through the subsequent pressure that influences managers to force turnover when they do not repay debts. The potential influence that the main banks have on the fraud rationalization factor may be stronger in firms that are more dependent on main-bank borrowing. This study analyzed data from publicly listed firms in Japan for the period between 2008 and 2016 to determine how main-bank relationships affected accounting fraud, thus allowing an assessment of delegated monitoring practices. Findings showed that main-bank relationships were helpful for reducing accounting fraud, suggesting its overall effectiveness in delegated monitoring. Results also showed that large audit firms did not necessarily prevent accounting fraud, which implies that main banks can employ their own monitoring as a substitute for the roles typically played by these firms. Here, the main policy implication is that main-bank relationships may strengthen business ethics in the context of bank-dominated corporate governance. In conclusion, the continued analysis of bank monitoring may benefit stakeholders while strengthening business ethics in bank-centered economies.

     

A Conjoint Analysis of a Next Generation Network (NGN) in Japan

A conjoint analysis on a Web survey in 2010 with 160 participants and 8 questions shows that a Marginal Willingness To Pay (MWTP) on a Next Generation Network (NGN) of Flet’s Hikari Next is lower than its actual price as provided by NTT East. Conjoint analysis is one application of conditional logit. MWTP is WTP when one unit of property is increased, and MWTP is used to verify how much each person evaluates each property. Higher transmission speed, digital TV availability, and higher Internet security affect the MWTP positively, and the amount of the monthly payment of NGN affects the MWTP negatively. Therefore, it is assumed that the NGN of Flet’s Hikari Next by NTT East will be accepted by potential customers and diffused as a major communications service of NTT East and NTT West. NGN providers may be able to maximize their benefits by adjusting the NGN of Flet’s Hikari Next property to meet customer demands, especially in digital TV availability, higher transmission speed, and communications security.     

A Conjoint Analysis of Demand for the Japanese Mobile Phone Market

The Japanese mobile phone market is 55.8% of the total market in the telecommunications industry. This paper is a conjoint analysis on Japanese consumer preferences for Japanese mobile phones. The analysis in this paper is presented after a questionnaire survey was given to 3,412 Japanese mobile phone users over 15 years old. The results of this analysis show that a decline in the price of mobile phone sets, an increase in transmission speed, the application of family discounts, and the continuation of contracts with the same telecommunication companies, all raise demand for mobile networks. In addition, the author found that user groups of NTT DOCOMO, au (KDDI), Softbank, and MVNO have different utility functions. According to the estimation of Mean Willingness to Pay (MWTP) in this paper, suppliers of mobile phone networks may be able to optimize and maximize demand by adjusting attributions and their levels.     

Evaluating effects on the flow of electrical and electronic equipment and energy consumption due to alternative consumption patterns in China

In this paper, we evaluated the effects of consumer’s behavioural changes on usage and disposal of home appliances. With the model to estimate the product circulation, first we conducted the sensitivity analysis with the six parameters, namely urbanisation, household size, Gini coefficient, product lifetime and selection rate of used product and high energy efficiency product. Then, secondly we evaluated CO₂ emission and e-waste generation from four consumers’ different behavioural patterns, which are named as ‘Business As Usual’ (BAU), ‘Rapid Cycling’ (RC), ‘Chain of Users’ (CU) and ‘Quality and Wisdom’ (QW). As a result, the QW scenario was the best lifestyle in both criteria. Further, RC scenario had an advantage on the reduction in e-waste generation in one hand, but CU scenario reduced more CO₂ emission. During the transition era of China from materially poor to rich, it could be one of the solutions to utilise energy-efficient second-hand product to improve the living standards of the poor and replace technologically inferior product stocks in poor households.     

Natural and double implementation of public ownership solutions in differentiable production economies

This paper examines the implementation of two public ownership solutions in convex production economies with differentiable production functions. The two public ownership solutions we focus on are the proportional and equal benefit solutions. Two “natural” mechanisms which doubly implement the proportional and equal benefit solutions respectively in Nash and strong Nash equilibria are proposed without assuming free disposal. Received: 7 May 1996 / Accepted: 1 December 1998     

Institutional distance,host country and international business experience,and the use of parent country nationals

This study examines how the institutional distance between a host country and a home country influences foreign subsidiary staffing, and how overseas business experience moderates the effect of institutional distance. Hypotheses regarding the effect of institutional distance on foreign subsidiary staffing are empirically tested using a sample of 2,980 foreign subsidiaries of Japanese firms. This study shows that although the ratio of parent country nationals to subsidiary employees decreases when firms face greater institutional distance, the absolute number of parent country nationals assigned to the subsidiary increases. This study also shows that firms with more overseas business experience replace host country nationals with parent country nationals when there is greater institutional distance.     

STRONG SUBJECTIVISM IN THE MARXIAN THEORY OF EXPLOITATION: A CRITIQUE

This paper critically analyses the strongly subjectivist approach to exploitation theory proposed by Matsuo on this journal, in general convex economies with heterogeneous agents. It is proved that the Fundamental Marxian Theorem is not preserved and that no meaningful subjectivist exploitation index can be constructed. A minimal objectivism is necessary in exploitation theory, whereby subjective preferences do not play a direct, definitional role. An objectivist approach related to the ‘New Interpretation’ is proposed which captures the core intuitions of exploitation theory, provides appropriate indices of individual and aggregate exploitation, and preserves the Fundamental Marxian Theorem in general economies.     

Imperfect competition in differentiated credit contract markets

This paper studies a duopolistic credit market in which borrowers differ in risk. In our competition game, one lender is in an advantaged position with respect to the other due to past relations with the borrowers. We investigate the features of the equilibrium contract and show that the best borrower is indifferent between the dominant and the opponent lenders’ contract while the other borrowers prefer that of the dominant lender. Also, repayment and collateral do not depend upon the borrowers’ respective project risk. The author is grateful to Jean-Charles Rochet for his comments and encouragement. The author acknowledges the reviewer’s very careful reading of the paper. The final version has benefited considerably from his comments and suggestions.     

Risk Sharing Mechanism in Japan's Auto Industry: The keiretsu Versus Independent Parts Suppliers

This study investigates (1) whether risk sharing behavior of subcontractors has changed over the two decades (1973–94); (2) whether there are any differences between keiretsu firms and independent firms in sharing risk; (3) how ownership of its parts-suppliers through minority shareholdings by automakers or sending directors to parts-suppliers affects the suppliers' risk sharing behavior. Empirical results support the risk-sharing hypothesis in general. The keiretsu firms are more risk averse than independent firms in the first period (1973–85). In the second period (1985–94) independent firms become more risk averse than keiretsu firms. This may suggest that the keiretsu system would work as a shock absorber in an unfavorable business environment.