The Japanese Economic Review 

About: The Japanese Economic Review is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Consumption (economics) & Competition (economics). It has an ISSN identifier of 1352-4739. Over the lifetime, 861 publications have been published receiving 9614 citations. The journal is also known as: Japanese Economic Review.

A Second Elementary Proposition Concerning the Formation of Customs Unions

Abstract: 1‘ Introduction In the welter of inconclusive debate concerning the implications of customs u.nions, the following elementary yet basic proposition seems to have been almost lost to sight1 Froposition. Ccnsiaer any competitive world trading ewilibrium, with any number of countries and commodities, and with no restrictions whatever on the tariffs and other commodity taxes of individual countries, and with costs of trans- port fully recognized. Now let any subset of the countries form a customs unton. Then there exists a common tartrvector and a system of lump-sum compensatory payments, involving only members of the union, such that there is an associated tart$ridden competitive equilibrium in which each individual, whether a member of the union or not, is not worse oRthan before theformation of the union2 A detailed list of assumptions, and a relatively formal proof, may be found in section 2. Here we merely note that there exists a common tariff vector which is consistent with pre-union world prices and, therefore, with pre-u,nion trade patterns and pre-union levels of welfare for nonmembers. The proposition is interesting in that it contains no qualifications whatever

Why Did Japan's TFP Growth Slow Down in the Lost Decade?: An Empirical Analysis Based on Firm-Level Data of Manufacturing Firms

Abstract: This study analyses the cause of the slowdown in Japan’s TFP growth during the 1990s. Many preceding studies, examining the issue at the macro- or industry-level, have found that the slowdown was primarily due to the stagnation in TFP growth in the manufacturing sector. Using firm level panel data covering the entire sector, we investigate the causes of the TFP slowdown and find that the reallocation of resources from less efficient to more efficient firms was very slow and limited. This “low metabolism” seems to be an important cause for the slowdown in Japan’s TFP growth.

Credit and business cycles

Abstract: This paper presents two dynamic models of the economy in which credit constraints arise because creditors cannot force debtors to repay debts unless the debts are secured by collateral. The credit system becomes a powerful propagation mechanism by which the effects of shocks persist and amplify through the interaction between collateral values, borrowers’ net worth and credit limits. In particular, when fixed assets serve as collateral, I show that relatively small, temporary shocks to technology or wealth distribution can generate large, persistent fluctuations in output and asset prices. JEL Classification Numbers: E32, E44.

Moral Hazard and Other-Regarding Preferences

Abstract: This chapter aims at obtaining new theoretical insights by combining the standard moral hazard models of principal-agent relationships with theories of other-regarding preferences, in particular inequity aversion theory. The principal is in general worse off, as the agent cares more about the wellbeing of the principal. When there are multiple symmetric agents who care about each other’s wellbeing, the principal can optimally exploit their other-regarding nature by designing an appropriate interdependent contract such as a “fair” team contract or a relative performance contract. The approach taken in this chapter can shed light on issues on endogenous preferences within organizations.

Does geographical agglomeration foster economic growth? And who gains and loses from it?

Abstract: This paper proposes a two-region model of endogenous growth, which is a natural combination of a core-periphery model a la Krugman and an endogenous growth model a la Grossman/Helpman/Romer. The innovation activity in the R&D sector involves knowledge externalities among skilled workers. Our analysis supports the idea that the additional growth spurred by agglomeration may lead to a Pareto-dominant outcome such that, when the economy moves from dispersion to agglomeration, innovation follws a much faster pace. As a consequence, even those who stay put in the periphery are better off than under dispersion, provided that the growth effect triggered by the agglomeration is strong enough. JEL Classification Numbers: F43, O18, R11.