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Business Ownership and Unemployment in Japan

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Author Info
Joost van Acht (Institute of Innovation Research, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan)
Joop Stam (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam)
Roy Thurik () (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam)
Ingrid Verheul (EIM Business and Policy Research, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The influence of industrial structure, more specifically of business ownership, is investigated on the level of unemployment in Japan. The question is to what extent business ownership, i.e., entrepreneurship, can reduce the level of unemployment. It will be concluded that Japan is hardly an outlier when using a simple model of the relationship between unemployment and the rate of business ownership. The model is calibrated using recent data of 23 OECD countries. It shows a minor underestimation of the rise in unemployment in Japan in the period 1984-2002. Arguments are brought forward why this might be the case. We argue that small firms in Japan have benefitted in the past from the protective environment of the keiretsu structure. In the current process of industrial restructuring, keiretsu support is dissipating, but has not yet been adequatly replaced with a market environment conducive to the establishment and growth of entrepreneurial firms. The underestimation of the rise in unemployment is a reflection of the limited access of small firms to the market in Japan.

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Paper provided by Tinbergen Institute in its series Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers with number 04-036/3.

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Date of creation: 25 Mar 2004
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Handle: RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20040036

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Related research
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; business ownership; unemployment; industrial structure; Japan;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - General
L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
O10 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
O53 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Hugh Whittaker, 2001. "Crisis and innovation in Japan: a new future through techno-entrepreneurship?," ESRC Centre for Business Research - Working Papers wp193, ESRC Centre for Business Research. [Downloadable!]
  2. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip R., 2002. "The Problem Of Regional "Hollowing Out" In Japan : Lessons For Regional Industrial Policy," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 625, University of Warwick, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  3. Aoki, Masahiko, 1990. "Toward an Economic Model of the Japanese Firm," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 28(1), pages 1-27, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Masao Nakamura & Ilan Vertinsky & Charlene Zietsma, 1997. "Does Culture Matter in Inter-Firm Cooperation? Research Consortia in Japan and the USA," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(2), pages 153-175.
  5. Isabel Grilo & Roy Thurik, 2004. "Determinants of entrepreneurship in Europe," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2004-30, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
    • Grilo, I. & Thurik, A.R., 2004. "Determinants Of Entrepreneurship In Europe," Research Paper ERS-2004-106-ORG Revision, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus Uni. [Downloadable!]
  6. David B. Audretsch & A. Roy Thurik, 2000. "Capitalism and democracy in the 21st Century: from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 17-34. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Kato, Takao, 2001. "The End of Lifetime Employment in Japan?: Evidence from National Surveys and Field Research," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 489-514, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Kawai, Hiroki & Urata, Shujiro, 2002. " Entry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Economic Dynamism in Japan," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 18(1-3), pages 41-51, Feb.- May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Abe, Masahiro & Ohta, Souichi, 2001. "Fluctuations in Unemployment and Industry Labor Markets," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 437-464, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. André van Stel, 2003. "COMPENDIA 2000.2: a harmonized data set of business ownership rates in 23 OECD countries," Scales Research Reports H200302, EIM Business and Policy Research. [Downloadable!]
  12. Roy Thurik, 2003. "Entrepreneurship and Unemployment in the UK," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 50(3), pages 264-290, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. White, Lawrence J, 1982. "The Determinants of the Relative Importance of Small Business," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 64(1), pages 42-49, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip R., 2002. "Re-Visiting The Roots Of Japan'S Structural Decline:The Role Of The Japanese Corporation," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 624, University of Warwick, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  17. Blau, David M, 1987. "A Time-Series Analysis of Self-employment in the United State," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(3), pages 445-67, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. André van Stel & Roy Thurik & Ingrid Verheul & Lendert Baljeu, 2007. "The Relationship between Entrepreneurship and Unemployment in Japan," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 07-080/3, Tinbergen Institute, revised 14 Jul 2008. [Downloadable!]
  19. David Audretsch & Roy Thurik, 2004. "A Model of the Entrepreneurial Economy," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2004-12, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group. [Downloadable!]
  20. Urata, Shujiro & Kawai, Hiroki, 2002. " Technological Progress by Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 18(1-3), pages 53-67, Feb.- May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Wennekers, Sander & Thurik, Roy, 1999. " Linking Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 27-55, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  22. Geroski, P. A., 1995. "What do we know about entry?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 421-440, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  24. David Audretsch & Roy Thurik, 1997. "Sources of Growth," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 97-109/3, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Antonio Golpe & Andre van Stel, 2007. "Self-Employment and Unemployment in Spanish Regions in the Period 1979-2001," Jena Economic Research Papers in Economics 2007-021, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Max-Planck-Institute of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. André van Stel & Roy Thurik & Ingrid Verheul & Lendert Baljeu, 2007. "The Relationship between Entrepreneurship and Unemployment in Japan," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 07-080/3, Tinbergen Institute, revised 14 Jul 2008. [Downloadable!]
  3. Rui Baptista & Roy Thurik, 2004. "The Relationship between Entrepreneurship and Unemployment: is Portugal an Outlier?," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2004-40, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group. [Downloadable!]
  4. Andre van Stel & Lendert Baljeu & Roy Thurik & Ingrid Verheul, 2006. "The Contribution of Business Ownership in Bringing Down Unemployment in Japan," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2006-05, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group. [Downloadable!]
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