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The changing and unchanged nature of inequality and seniority in Japan

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  • Ken Yamada
  • Daiji Kawaguchi

Abstract

Wage inequality declined in the 1990s, while it increased in the 2000s for full-time male workers in Japan. We find that a decreased return to firm-specific human capital, which has been neglected in previous empirical analyses of inequality, is a key factor preventing a rise in wage inequality during the prolonged period of economic stagnation, known as Japan’s lost decades. We also find that, while changes in returns to general and specific human capital contributed to narrowing wage inequality in the 1990s and widening wage inequality in the 2000s, a significant fraction of the increase in wage inequality in the 2000s is attributable to composition effects arising from an increased share of educated and experienced workers, among whom wages are more dispersed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Ken Yamada & Daiji Kawaguchi, 2015. "The changing and unchanged nature of inequality and seniority in Japan," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 13(1), pages 129-153, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jecinq:v:13:y:2015:i:1:p:129-153
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-014-9295-6
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    4. Taro Kimura & Yoshiyuki Kurachi & Tomohiro Sugo, 2019. "Decreasing Wage Returns to Human Capital: Analysis of Wage and Job Experience Using Micro Data of Workers," Bank of Japan Working Paper Series 19-E-12, Bank of Japan.
    5. 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.
    6. Daiji Kawaguchi & Hiroaki Mori, 2019. "The labor market in Japan, 2000–2018," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 385-385, July.
    7. Daiji Kawaguchi & Hiroaki Mori, 2017. "The labor market in Japan, 2000–2016," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 385-385, September.
    8. Endoh, Masahiro, 2021. "Offshoring and working hours adjustments in a within-firm labor market," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    9. YOKOYAMA Izumi & KODAMA Naomi & HIGUCHI Yoshio, 2016. "What Happened to Wage Inequality in Japan during the Last 25 Years? Evidence from the FFL decomposition method," Discussion papers 16081, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    10. Inoue, Toshikatsu, 2022. "The effect of aging on the age–wage profile in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    11. Kawaguchi, Daiji & Mori, Yuko, 2016. "Why has wage inequality evolved so differently between Japan and the US? The role of the supply of college-educated workers," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 29-50.
    12. Ohta, Souichi, 2019. "Some evidence on the cohort earnings differentials of men in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 113-125.
    13. Hiroshi Teruyama & Hiroyuki Toda, 2017. "Wage Profiles in the Japanese Dual Labor Market," KIER Working Papers 961, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.
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    15. Ms. Chie Aoyagi & Alistair Munro, 2019. "Guilt, Gender, and Work-Life Balance in Japan: A Choice Experiment," IMF Working Papers 2019/261, International Monetary Fund.

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