Increasingly ageing populations and a slowing rate of growth in the macroeconomy are forcing advanced countries to reconsider their social security programmes. The need for detailed examination of the possible reforms and initiatives has never been greater.
This book brings together internationally-renowned scholars to evaluate the effect of recent social security reforms in advanced countries (pension programmes in particular) and to suggest policy reforms for the future.
Including detailed studies of countries including Australia, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia, the UK and the USA, this book will be of essential interest to economists and policy-makers working in pension financing reform, and public economics more generally.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203217152

The book examines the effect of labour markets on economic performance in an international perspective; Europe, Japan and the US. Labour markets are an important determinant of the performance of both national economies and individual firms, as well as employment rewards such as wages and satisfaction levels. Many countries in Europe suffer from a high level of unemployment. The US economy suffers from low real income growth and widening wage dispersions. The level of worker satisfaction in Japan is relatively low despite her relatively better economic performance. The purpose of this book is to investigate these issues, and to provide readers with explanations of these phenomena and the differences in the performance of labour markets in Europe, Japan and the US. The book includes both theoretical and empirical studies of various countries undertaken by leading labour and macro economists, and presents several policy suggestions.

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. General features of the labour and capital markets, and Japanese business
3. An analysis of labour mobility
4. The effect of individual characteristics and of parametric and non-parametric approaches on job duration
5. Theory of wage determination and its empirical test
6. Shareholding and lending activity of financial institutions
7. Dispatched directors: an aspect of the Japanese Main Bank system
8. Intercorporate shareholding and volatility in stock prices
9. Capital adequacy constraint for banks and the real economy: a general equilibrium evaluation under intercorporate shareholding
10. Stability of the Japanese company system
11. Concluding remarks

The nature of Japanese firms has come under intense scrutiny because of their international success and their distinct structure, employee relations and working practices. This book sheds light on the reasons for promotion within firms, the distribution of power within companies, business management methods and the relationship between shareholders, executives and employees.The authors use empirical data from comprehensive surveys to support their research on the nature of Japanese business. They survey 1,816 white-collar employees in several large corporate enterprises, and 2,246 shareholder appointed board members in listed corporations. The authors' primary concern is to explain the prerequisites for promotion to middle management and executive positions. Many criteria are analysed, including the extent of desire for promotion, working style, lifestyle, the effect of university education including the name of the university, the level of education attained, the effect of university education including the name of the university and the degree subject, the economic incentive behind severe competition for promotion and the role of trade unions. The book also deals with issues of corporate governance and the role of the incentive system and examines the popularity of labour managed firms in Japan. This detailed work will be of great interest to economists, businessmen and students wanting to learn more about Japanese business.

This edited volume makes a contribution to the literature on happiness research by compiling studies based on cross-national research and from diverse academic disciplines. The book is distinctive in that it contains both theoretical and empirical analyses, investigating relationship between causes of happiness and economic behavior relating to employment, consumption, and saving. Most notably, it is one of the first studies in this subject area that analyzes micro data collected in Europe, US and Japan with information on respondents' attributes and their economic behavior, as well as in measuring inter-temporal happiness by principal factor analysis. Research findings in this volume shed new light on public policies for a number of areas such as employment, family, social welfare, urban and regional planning, and culture. The book draws on a collaborative research project between five institutions of higher education in France, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Japan that lasted for two years.

This book provides a comprehensive appraisal of social security in Japan, where traditionally the burden of welfare provision has been the main responsibility of the family and employers, rather than the state. However, an ageing population, changes in family structure and continued recession has led to an urgent reappraisal of this situation. The book begins by examining the social security system in Japan as a whole, before focusing on specific issues. These include public and occupational pensions, medical care and childcare, and the availability and accessibility of social infrastructure for the old and handicapped. In each case, the distinguished authors address the unique problems associated with Japan and propose practical policy recommendations for social security reform. The book also discusses the future path of Japanese welfare transition and explores the advantages and disadvantages of the private sector model for welfare provision compared to the public sector model. The expert contributors, including both Japanese and international specialists, provide a critical evaluation of social security reform in Japan, set against the background of future demographic and economic trends. This book will appeal to all scholars of public policy, welfare policy and public finance. It will also be of interest to anyone working on the merits and demerits of different social security systems.

The book examines the effect of various public policies on economic performance in Japan. Various public policies include tax policy, regulation, macroeconomic policy, labour policy and some others. Many fields regarding economic performance are covered in this book: savings, portfolio choice, housings, investments, cost of capital, taxes, unemployment, wages, inequality, etc. Emphasis is placed on the examination of the two factor markets, namely, the capital and labour markets in Japan.