Musashi University

About: Musashi University is a education organization based out in Tokyo, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Supply chain & Frugivore. The organization has 125 authors who have published 328 publications receiving 3844 citations.

On Sovereign Credit Ratings and Pro-Cyclical Fiscal Policy

Abstract: Using foreign currency long-term sovereign rating data from 93 countries and for more than 30 years, panel data econometric analyses show non-monotonic relation between pro-cyclicality of government consumption and sovereign risk scores. That is, countries with limited access to foreign credits due to their relatively low credit ratings record more pro-cyclical fiscal policy than countries with higher sovereign ratings as well as countries being shut out from international borrowings. Results imply that vulnerable countries are more constrained in borrowing during economic downturns and so must reinforce fiscal disciplines to repay debts in recessions. Perception of default risk, which varies over the business cycle, accelerates pro-cyclical fiscal policy in countries with limited access to international credits.

On the Present Status and Conservation of Primates Inhabiting Montane and Tropical Rain Forests in the West of Lake Kivu, Zaïre

Abstract: A survey was conducted from July to December 1987 on primates inhabiting the Mt. Kahuzi, Masisi, Irangi and Itebero-Utu regions of Kivu District, Zaire. Ten diurnal primate species were confirmed to survive in these regions based on direct observations, field signs and personal communications by Park Wardens or local people. The estimated densities of gorillas and chimpanzees were 0.83head/km2 and 0.91-1.1head/km2 respectively, in the Masisi region; and 0.27-0.32head/km2 and 0.27-0.33head/km2 respectively, in the Itebero-Utu region. Gorillas frequently used secondary regenerating forest, while chimpanzees used primary forest in both regions. Other primates have possibly become reduced and changed in their distributions in comparison with those reported previously. Colobus angolensis was not, and Cercopithecus l hoesti was rarely found in the 4 regions. Papio anubis invaded the bamboo zone of Mt. Kahuzi, and C. l hoesti and hamlyni had descended into the lowland forest. Deforestation, hunting pressures and other human distrurbances have recently increased in the Masisi, Irangi and Itebero-Utu regions. It was said that 9 primate species were raiding at least 12 high valued crops. Most of the primate species faced serious problems and were in danger of extinction in these 3 regions. Especially in Masisi, where the mountain slopes had been entirely cultivated, the primates ranged within several small forestry patches around the top of the mountains or in the valleys. Gorillas frequently appeared in farms or pastures, and a struggle between them and the local people had gradually increased. An immediate decision must be taken to separate the gorillas and their habitats completely from the human activities in Masisi. A conservation policy should be implemented urgently, incorporating local management plans. Present and future conservation projects are discussed, and several detailed recommendations are made in this paper.

The Japanese Economy and the Labor Market

Abstract: "… Time travels in divers paces with divers persons. I'll tell you who Time ambles withal, who Time trots withal, who Time gallops withal, and who he stands still withal" (Shakespeare, 1623). As the tempo of time differs among persons, the tempo of a nation's economic development varies among nations.

Japan in a bipolar world: an introduction

Abstract: The 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Soviet Alliance went unnoticed in most Asian capitals. This included Tokyo, where ironically the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, was concluding an official visit. In February 1950, however, all eyes had focused upon Moscow, where Josef Stalin and Mao Zedong were concluding a 30-year pact to unite the strategic ‘heartland of Eurasia’.1 A ‘Communist bloc’ now stretched from Berlin to Beijing. Little more than a decade later, however, as the outside world watched in astonishment, this ‘eternal and indestructible’ alliance slowly crumbled under the weight of its internal contradictions.2

An Experimental Study of Money Illusion in Intertemporal Decision Making

Abstract: To examine the degree to which price fluctuations affect how individuals approach an intertemporal decision-making problem, we conduct a laboratory experiment in which subjects spend their savings on consumption over 20 periods. In the control treatment, the commodity price is constant across all periods. In the small (large) price-fluctuation treatment, the price rate of change is always 1% (20%), and the rate of change of savings is always the same as the commodity price. Therefore, the optimal amount of consumption is the same in all three treatments. Our main findings are threefold. First, the magnitude of misconsumption (i.e., the deviation from optimal consumption) is significantly high in order of the control, small price-fluctuation, and large price-fluctuation treatments. Second, in the control treatment, the magnitude of misconsumption shrinks over time, whereas it gradually increases in the small and large price-fluctuation treatments. Finally, regardless of the presence of price fluctuations, subjects exhibit under-consumption (over-saving) behavior, and the presence of price fluctuations strengthens such a tendency.