IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/een/camaaa/2019-36.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Dimensions of inequality in Japan: Distributions of earnings, income and wealth between 1984 and 2014

Author

Listed:
  • Sagiri Kitao
  • Tomoaki Yamada

Abstract

Inequality has become a central policy issue across the world. We study trends of inequality in earnings, income and wealth across households in Japan, using the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure (NSFIE) from 1984 to 2014. We focus on the transition of inequality unconditionally and conditionally across various dimensions of household heterogeneity such as age, cohort, employment and marital status of household heads, sources of income, family size, etc. Inequality in earnings, income and wealth all increased during the last three decades. Changes in earnings and income inequality were mostly driven by demographic shift in the population towards the elderly, who tend to have higher inequality. Wealth inequality rose not only in the aggregate but also among the young, and this is due to a major increase in the fraction of households who own zero or very low wealth across all age groups. Critical factors in understanding inequality trends in Japan that we identified are aging demographics, changes in typical household structure, and macroeconomic trends of the past decades including the financial bubble period and a decades-long slow-down thereafter.

Suggested Citation

  • Sagiri Kitao & Tomoaki Yamada, 2019. "Dimensions of inequality in Japan: Distributions of earnings, income and wealth between 1984 and 2014," CAMA Working Papers 2019-36, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:een:camaaa:2019-36
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cama.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/publication/cama_crawford_anu_edu_au/2019-06/36_2019_kitao_yamada.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mariacristina De Nardi & Giulio Fella, 2017. "Saving and Wealth Inequality," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 26, pages 280-300, October.
    2. SeHyoun Ahn & Greg Kaplan & Benjamin Moll & Thomas Winberry & Christian Wolf, 2018. "When Inequality Matters for Macro and Macro Matters for Inequality," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(1), pages 1-75.
    3. Jonathan Heathcote & Fabrizio Perri & Giovanni L. Violante, 2010. "Unequal We Stand: An Empirical Analysis of Economic Inequality in the United States: 1967-2006," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 13(1), pages 15-51, January.
    4. Takashi Oshio, 2006. "Income Inequality and Redistribution Policies in Japan During the 1980s and 1990s," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 15(I), pages 119-146, December.
    5. Moriguchi, Chiaki, 2010. "Top wage incomes in Japan, 1951-2005," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 301-333, September.
    6. Kitao, Sagiri, 2015. "Fiscal cost of demographic transition in Japan," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 37-58.
    7. Cagetti, Marco & De Nardi, Mariacristina, 2008. "Wealth Inequality: Data And Models," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(S2), pages 285-313, September.
    8. Jonathan Heathcote & Kjetil Storesletten & Giovanni L. Violante, 2009. "Quantitative Macroeconomics with Heterogeneous Households," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 319-354, May.
    9. Jeremy Lise & Nao Sudo & Michio Suzuki & Ken Yamada & Tomoaki Yamada, 2014. "Wage, Income and Consumption Inequality in Japan, 1981-2008: from Boom to Lost Decades," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(4), pages 582-612, October.
    10. Fumio Ohtake & Makoto Saito, 1998. "Population Aging And Consumption Inequality In Japan," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 44(3), pages 361-381, September.
    11. Moritz Kuhn & José-Víctor Ríos-Rull, 2016. "2013 Update on the U.S. Earnings, Income, and Wealth Distributional Facts: A View from Macroeconomics," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, issue April, pages 1-75.
    12. UNAYAMA Takashi & OHNO Taro, 2017. "Household Savings Rate in National Accounts and Household Surveys in Japan (Japanese)," Discussion Papers (Japanese) 17035, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    13. Nao Sudo & Michio Suzuki & Tomoaki Yamada, 2012. "Inequalities in Japanese Economy during the Lost Decades," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-856, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    14. Chiaki Moriguchi & Emmanuel Saez, 2008. "The Evolution of Income Concentration in Japan, 1886-2005: Evidence from Income Tax Statistics," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(4), pages 713-734, November.
    15. Javier Diaz-Gimenez & Andrew Glover & José-Víctor Ríos-Rull, 2011. "Facts on the distributions of earnings, income, and wealth in the United States: 2007 update," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    16. Carlotta Balestra & Richard Tonkin, 2018. "Inequalities in household wealth across OECD countries: Evidence from the OECD Wealth Distribution Database," OECD Statistics Working Papers 2018/01, OECD Publishing.
    17. Selahattin İmrohoroğlu & Sagiri Kitao & Tomoaki Yamada, 2016. "Achieving Fiscal Balance In Japan," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57, pages 117-154, February.
    18. Takashi Oshio, 2006. "Income Inequality and Redistribution Policies in Japan During the 1980s and 1990s," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 15(3-4), pages 119-146, December.
    19. Braun, R. Anton & Joines, Douglas H., 2015. "The implications of a graying Japan for government policy," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-23.
    20. Ohtake, Fumio & Saito, Makoto, 1998. "Population Aging and Consumption Inequality in Japan," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 44(3), pages 361-381, September.
    21. Fumio OHTAKE, 2008. "Inequality in Japan," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 3(1), pages 87-109, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jacek Rothert & Andy Glover & Ayse Kabukcuoglu Dur, 2023. "Winners and losers from reducing global imbalances," GRAPE Working Papers 80, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    2. Zhang, Bingqi & Nozawa, Wataru & Managi, Shunsuke, 2021. "Spatial inequality of inclusive wealth in China and Japan," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 164-179.
    3. Kitao, Sagiri & Mikoshiba, Minamo, 2020. "Females, the elderly, and also males: Demographic aging and macroeconomy in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    4. FUKAI Taiyo & ICHIMURA Hidehiko & KITAO Sagiri & MIKOSHIBA Minamo, 2021. "Medical Expenditures over the Life Cycle: Persistent Risks and Insurance," Discussion papers 21073, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    5. Reona Hagiwara, 2022. "Welfare Effects of Health Insurance Reform: The Role of Elastic Medical Demand," IMES Discussion Paper Series 22-E-05, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan.
    6. repec:fip:a00001:87974 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. KITAO Sagiri & YAMADA Tomoaki, 2023. "The Time Trend and Life-cycle Profiles of Consumption," Discussion papers 23036, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    8. Hirokuni Iiboshi & Daisuke Ozaki, 2022. "The Impact of the Social Security Reforms on Welfare: Who benefits and Who loses across Generations, Gender, and Employment Type?," Papers 2205.08042, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2022.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jeremy Lise & Nao Sudo & Michio Suzuki & Ken Yamada & Tomoaki Yamada, 2014. "Wage, Income and Consumption Inequality in Japan, 1981-2008: from Boom to Lost Decades," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(4), pages 582-612, October.
    2. Fumio Ohtake & M. Kohara & N. Okuyama & K. Yamada, 2013. "GINI Country Report: Growing Inequalities and their Impacts in Japan," GINI Country Reports japan, AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
    3. Yamada, Tomoaki, 2013. "Cross-sectional Facts in Japan using Keio Household Panel Survey," MPRA Paper 49813, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Ryo Kambayashi & Daiji Kawaguchi & Izumi Yokoyama, 2008. "Wage distribution in Japan, 1989–2003," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(4), pages 1329-1350, November.
    5. Nawid Siassi, 2019. "Inequality and the Marriage Gap," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 31, pages 160-181, January.
    6. Nao Sudo & Michio Suzuki & Tomoaki Yamada, 2012. "Inequalities in Japanese Economy during the Lost Decades," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-856, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    7. Nakajima, Tomoyuki & Takahashi, Shuhei, 2017. "The optimum quantity of debt for Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 17-26.
    8. Takeshi Miyazaki & Yukinobu Kitamura & Taro Ohno, 2019. "Income Tax Reforms and Redistribution by Age Group: Evidence from Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 70(1), pages 105-122, March.
    9. KITAO Sagiri & YAMADA Tomoaki, 2023. "The Time Trend and Life-cycle Profiles of Consumption," Discussion papers 23036, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    10. Sung-Jin Kang & Robert Rudolf, 2016. "Rising Or Falling Inequality In Korea? Population Aging And Generational Trends," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 61(05), pages 1-26, December.
    11. 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).
    12. Moritz Kuhn & Moritz Schularick & Ulrike I. Steins, 2020. "Income and Wealth Inequality in America, 1949–2016," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(9), pages 3469-3519.
    13. Masakatsu Okubo, 2015. "Earnings Dynamics and Profile Heterogeneity: Estimates from Japanese Panel Data," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 66(1), pages 112-146, March.
    14. Juan Carlos Parra-Alvarez & Olaf Posch & Mu-Chun Wang, 2017. "Estimation of Heterogeneous Agent Models: A Likelihood Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 6717, CESifo.
    15. Minchul Yum, 2018. "On the distribution of wealth and employment," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 30, pages 86-105, October.
    16. Ryo Arawatari & Tetsuo Ono, 2008. "Aging, Inequality and Social Security," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 08-19, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    17. Krueger, D. & Mitman, K. & Perri, F., 2016. "Macroeconomics and Household Heterogeneity," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 843-921, Elsevier.
    18. Marco Cozzi, 2012. "Risk Aversion Heterogeneity, Risky Jobs And Wealth Inequality," Working Paper 1286, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    19. Yamada, Tomoaki, 2012. "Income risk, macroeconomic and demographic change, and economic inequality in Japan," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 63-84.
    20. Kohei Kubota, 2021. "Partial insurance in Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 72(2), pages 299-328, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Distributions of wealth; earnings and income; inequality; demographic aging; Japanese economy.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:een:camaaa:2019-36. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Cama Admin (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/asanuau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.