Ken-Ichi Akao

Non-Pecuniary Work Incentive and Labor Supply

Recognizing that people value employment not only to earn income to satisfy their consumption needs, but also as a means to gain socio-psychological (nonpecuniary) benefits, we show that once nonpecuniary work incentives are incorporated into standard labor supply theory, (i) the wage rate under-estimates (over-estimates) the true value of nonwork/leisure time when work has nonpecuniary benefits (costs), (ii) nonpecuniary benefits can be a substitute for monetary wages as work incentives, (iii) at very low wage rates, work can become a net source of utility, and (iii) the shape of labor supply curve differs from standard theory. We also identify conditions under which a greater nonpecuniary work incentive generates a larger individual labor supply, and examine the effects of non-wage income on labor supply both for paid and voluntary work.

When is it Optimal to Exhaust a Resource in a Finite Time

Exhaustion of a natural resource stock may be a rational choice for an individual and/or a community, even if a sustainable use for the resource is feasible and the resource users are farsighted and well informed on the ecosystem. We identify conditions under which it is optimal not to sustain resource use. These conditions concern the discounting of future benefits, instability of a social system or ecosystem, nonconvexity of natural growth function, socio-psychological value of employment, and strategic interaction among resource users. The identification of these conditions can help design policies to prevent unsustainable patterns of resource use.

Environmental Quality in a Differentiated Duopoly

In a duopoly industry with environmentally differentiated products, we examine the effects of introducing a mandatory environmental quality standard on firms’ environmental quality choices, profits, and the average environmental quality offered by the industry. We show that at low standard levels, both firms choose to overcomply regardless of the standard level. At intermediate levels, the mandatory standard can reduce the profit of the low-cost firm while increasing that of the high-cost firm, and that it can lower the industry’s average environmental quality below what it would be without the standard.

Non-Pecuniary Value of Employment and Individual Labor Supply

Recognizing that people value employment not only to earn income to satisfy their consumption needs but also as a means of community involvement that provides socio-psychological (non-pecuniary) benefits, we show that once the non-pecuniary benefits of employment are incorporated in the standard individual’s utility function, then at very low income levels employment can be a source of utility, inducing individuals to supply labor to the extent possible. We also show the conditions under which a greater non-pecuniary effect of employment generates a larger individual labor supply.

Non-pecuniary Value of Employment and Natural Resource Extinction

We assume that people value employment not only to earn income to satisfy their consumption needs but also as a means of community/social involvement that provides socio-psychological (non-pecuniary) benefits. We show that the latter incentive can encourage full employment harvesting resources and explain why poor resource-based communities may exhaust a natural resource in a finite time even if there is a sustainable path of resource consumption available. We show that communities could sustain their natural resources by using outside-the-community employment and economic diversification, but, to be effective, such policies must ensure that the outside wage rate and the initial capital stock are above certain minimum levels, which will be higher the longer these policies are delayed.

Energy Conservation and Risk of Electric Outage: Laboratory Experimental Study

AbstractIn recent decades, climate change and resource limitations have become serious problems. To overcome these problems, many countries promote the introduction of renewable energy. However, the diffusion of renewable energy requires a novel supply and demand system for electricity. One remarkable method of controlling electricity demand is a demand-side control based on dynamic pricing. This study analyzes electricity consumption behavior using laboratory experiments. In particular, the authors focus on the effect of supply limitations on consumption behavior. The results of the experiment include significant findings that help provide an understanding of electricity consumption behavior. More specifically, the announcement of a supply limitation affects the decision to consume electricity. Results of this study indicate that cooperative people tend to decrease electricity consumption more when they are aware of the possibility of an electrical outage. This finding implies that researchers need a bet...

Endogenous growth with material balance principle

This paper considers how environmental problems affect economic growth. In order to explain the relationship between the economy and the environment, we impose the law of mass conservation and its corollary, the mass balance principle, and consider pollution from both production and consumption sectors. Utilising a model which incorporates the material balance principle on endogenous growth theory, we obtain the following results: where environmental problems are not serious, optimal economic growth rates at a steady state rise as these problems become more severe - however, there is a threshold for the degree of their seriousness, beyond which the relationship is reversed, i.e., environmental problems lower optimal economic growth rates; a similar relationship is found between the economic growth rates at social optimum and at a laissez-faire competitive equilibrium. The optimal growth rate is higher (lower) than the equilibrium growth rate if the degree of seriousness of environmental problems is below (above) a threshold.