Terukazu Suruga

Employment Adjustment in Japanese Firms: Negative Profits and Dismissals

Japanese aggregate employment for the entire economy or industrial sectors is very stable over time. In comparison with other developed countries, change of aggregate employment to change of output is also small in Japan. On the other hand, we are able to find individual firms experiencing annual employment changes exceeding the 10–20 per cent range as shown by Chuma (1994). The ordinary smooth employment adjustment model cannot explain these rapid declines in employment appropriately. This chapter presents a negative profit employment adjustment model and attempts to explain the movement of employment in some Japanese large firms experiencing rapid decline in employment.

The Effect of Household Characteristics on Saving Behaviour and the Theory of Savings in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the household saving functions based on cross-section data which contain fruitful informations of individual observations. The paper also attempts to test various theories of saving behaviours empirically such as life-cycle saving hypothesis, or permanent income hypothesis, or several other theories. Since the data contain several useful variables which have not been used previously, particular attention is paid to the influence of those household characteristics on saving behaviour.

Australia: Wage Differentials

The wage structure in Australia is based on an awards system which represents the outcome of the conciliation and arbitration process. There are thousands of awards, both federal and state, most of which are based on occupation. Awards determine not only the basic wage but also working conditions. There are both parent awards and secondary awards. The number of parent awards is limited and secondary awards imitate the parent awards.1 Australian wage determination is, consequently, characterized as a very centralized system as compared with wage determination by collective bargaining in other nations, such as Japan, the USA and the UK.