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A Decomposition of the Decline in Japanese Nominal Wages in the 1990s and 2000s

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  • Kodama, Naomi
  • Inui, Tomohiko
  • Kwon, Hyeogug

Abstract

In the 1990s and the 2000s, the average nominal wage in Japan declined continuously. This is a sharp contrast to wage trends in other developed countries in the same period. This study seeks to provide new quantitative evidence on the possible factors contributing to the nominal wage decline in Japan’s so-called “two lost decades” employing the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method using data from the Basic Survey on Wage Structure for 1993-2008. We find that half of the decline of the average wage in the total economy is due to the growing employment share of low-wage industries. Further, we decompose changes in average wages at the industry level for three subperiods representing different phases of the business cycle in Japan. Controlling for worker characteristics, we find the wages of workers in the manufacturing, wholesale, and medical, health care, and welfare industries declined between 1998 and 2003. Further, our results show that 1997 was the turning point in terms of changes in the wage structure. In addition, we find that wages for workers with the same characteristics continued to decline in the 2000s, albeit at a slower pace, and the main factor responsible for the wage decline was changes in the composition of the workforce in the wholesale, retail, and medical, health care, and welfare industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Kodama, Naomi & Inui, Tomohiko & Kwon, Hyeogug, 2014. "A Decomposition of the Decline in Japanese Nominal Wages in the 1990s and 2000s," CIS Discussion paper series 631, Center for Intergenerational Studies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    • Handle: RePEc:hit:cisdps:631
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    File URL: https://hermes-ir.lib.hit-u.ac.jp/hermes/ir/re/26827/DP631.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yokoyama, Izumi & Kodama, Naomi & Higuchi, Yoshio, 2019. "Inequality through wage response to the business cycle–Evidence from the FFL decomposition method," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 87-98.
    2. 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).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    nominal wage decline; deflation; changes in industrial structure; trade and labor market interactions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • 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
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • L80 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - General

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