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Cyclical behavior of unemployment and job vacancies in Japan

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  • Miyamoto, Hiroaki

Abstract

This paper studies whether the Mortensen and Pissarides (MP) search and matching model can explain the observed labor market fluctuations in Japan. To do this, this study first establishes a number of key facts about the cyclical properties of the Japanese labor market. Although the standard MP model correctly predicts the observed regularities in the cyclical fluctuations of unemployment and job vacancies, it cannot generate the observed unemployment and vacancy fluctuations in response to productivity shock of reasonable size. This paper extends the matching model by incorporating firm-specific training costs whose role is emphasized in the Japanese labor market. Relative to the standard MP model, the extended model generates larger cyclical fluctuations in unemployment and job vacancies. However, it still falls short of what observed in the Japanese data.

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  • Miyamoto, Hiroaki, 2011. "Cyclical behavior of unemployment and job vacancies in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 214-225.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:japwor:v:23:y:2011:i:3:p:214-225
    DOI: 10.1016/j.japwor.2011.04.001
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    Cited by:

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    2. Yoichi Arai & Hidehiko Ichimura & Daiji Kawaguchi, 2014. "The educational upgrading of Japanese youth, 1982-2007: Are Japanese youth ready for structural reforms?," Working Papers e078, Tokyo Center for Economic Research.
    3. Amaral, Pedro S. & Tasci, Murat, 2016. "The cyclical behavior of equilibrium unemployment and vacancies across OECD countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 184-201.
    4. Hashimoto, Ken-ichi & Ono, Yoshiyasu & Schlegl, Matthias, 2023. "Structural unemployment, underemployment, and secular stagnation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    5. Ching-Yang Lin & Hiroaki Miyamoto, 2012. "Estimating a Search and Matching Model of the Aggregate Labor Market in Japan," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-850, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    6. Arai, Yoichi & Ichimura, Hidehiko & Kawaguchi, Daiji, 2015. "The educational upgrading of Japanese youth, 1982–2007: Are all Japanese youth ready for structural reforms?," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 100-126.
    7. Noritaka Kudoh & Hiroaki Miyamoto, 2021. "General Equilibrium Effects and Labor Market Fluctuations," Working Papers SDES-2021-4, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised May 2021.
    8. Gabriele Cardullo & Marco Guerrazzi, 2016. "The Cyclical Volatility of Equilibrium Unemployment and Vacancies: Evidence From Italy," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 30(4), pages 433-454, December.
    9. Kato, Ryuta Ray & Miyamoto, Hiroaki, 2013. "Fiscal stimulus and labor market dynamics in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 33-58.
    10. Hiroaki Miyamoto, 2013. "Ins and outs of the long-run unemployment dynamics," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(7), pages 615-620, May.
    11. Ryuta Ray Kato & Hiroaki Miyamoto, 2015. "Effects of Fiscal Stimulus on the Labor Market," Public Policy Review, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance Japan, vol. 11(2), pages 277-302, March.
    12. Masahiko Shibamoto, 2022. "Cyclical Activity and Inflation under Secular Stagnation: Empirical Evidence Using Data on Japan's Lost Decades," Discussion Paper Series DP2022-32, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    13. Miyamoto Hiroaki, 2016. "Growth and non-regular employment," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 16(2), pages 523-554, June.
    14. Chun-Hung Kuo & Hiroaki Miyamoto, 2016. "Unemployment and Wage Rigidity in Japan: A DSGE Model Perspective," Working Papers EMS_2016_06, Research Institute, International University of Japan.
    15. Gaston, Noel & Yoshimi, Taiyo, 2023. "The Balassa-Samuelson model with job separations," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Hiroaki Miyamoto, 2016. "Uncertainty shocks and labor market dynamics in Japan," Working Papers SDES-2016-8, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Jun 2016.
    17. Kudoh, Noritaka & Miyamoto, Hiroaki, 2023. "Do general equilibrium effects matter for labor market dynamics?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    18. Ken-ichi Hashimoto & Yoshiyasu Ono & Matthias Schlegl, 2020. "Structural Unemployment, Underemployment, and Secular Stagnation," CESifo Working Paper Series 8318, CESifo.
    19. Masanori Kashiwagi, 2015. "The Cyclical Properties of Unemployment and Vacancies in Taiwan," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 588-607, October.
    20. Lin, Ching-Yang & Miyamoto, Hiroaki, 2014. "An estimated search and matching model of the Japanese labor market," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 86-104.
    21. Lin, Ching-Yang & Miyamoto, Hiroaki, 2012. "Gross worker flows and unemployment dynamics in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 44-61.
    22. Hiroshi Teruyama & Hiroyuki Toda, 2017. "Polarization and Persistence in the Japanese Labor Market," KIER Working Papers 957, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.
    23. Makoto Kakinaka & Hiroaki Miyamoto, 2012. "Extensive vs. Intensive Margin in Japan," Working Papers EMS_2012_14, Research Institute, International University of Japan.
    24. Cheuk Yin Ho, 2014. "Can the baseline search and matching model quantitatively explain Okun's law?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(31), pages 3828-3835, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Search; Matching; Business cycles; Japanese labor market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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