Price Expectations and Consumption under Deflation: Evidence from Japanese Household Survey Data

The Japanese economy has experienced price deflation since the mid-1990s. Despite the importance of overcoming deflation, there has been little recent research on price expectations in Japan. This paper takes advantage of an original and rich quarterly household-level data set from the gKokumin Seikatsu Monitorsh to estimate average price expectations, examine the factors that affect price expectations, and examine how changes in price expectations have affected household consumption. Our estimates indicate that average price expectations ranged from minus 0.2 to zero percent in 2001 and 2002. However, there was an increase to 1 percent in the first quarter of 2003, followed by a decline to 0.2 percent in the second quarter, and a steady increase toward 0.8 percent by the first quarter of 2004. Price expectations depend on current price movements and lagged expectations. A series of quantitative easing monetary policies were not very effective in changing the price expectations, since the policy announcements caused revision of price expectations only for a small portion, i.e., 5-10% of people surveyed. The jump observed in the first quarter of 2003 was a reaction to the outbreak of the Iraq war. Our study also confirms that deflationary expectations discourage household consumption, mainly durable consumption, by delaying the timing of purchases, suggesting that the deflationary expectations should be upwardly revised to restore a vital Japanese economy.

Do Households Smooth Expenditure over Anticipated Income Changes? Evidence from Bonus Payments to Public Employees in Japan

This paper provides new evidence of consumers’ reaction to an anticipated sizable change in income. Until FY2002, Japanese public employees received predictable large bonus payments three times a fiscal year (in June, December, and March), but the March bonus was abolished in FY2003. We compare the seasonal patterns of public employees’ expenditure before and after the reform of the bonus payment schedule. Contrary to the prediction of the life cycle/permanent income hypothesis (LC/PIH), we find evidence that monthly patterns of household expenditure were significantly affected by the anticipated large change in income pattern. However, at closer inspection, this excess sensitivity of expenditure is observed only for expenditure subcategories of some durability, i.e., durables and semi-durables. Thus, while the LC/PIH does not appear to hold for expenditure (which we observe here), it may still hold for consumption.Life cycle/permanent income hypothesis, excess sensitivity, bonus payments, Family Income and Expenditure Survey, Japan

The quantitative determination of volatile fatty acids in ensilage by counter current distribution apparatus

1,本実験において著者等は,Ensilage中のV.F.AsをPaper partition chromatographyとCounter current distribution法によつてそれぞれ定性と定量を行つた. 2.Paper partition chromatographyは一次元上昇法で行い,移動相としては水飽和n-Butanol(1% ammonia)を用いた. 3, Counter current distributionでは,移動相として水飽和n-Butanol,固定相としてn-Butanol飽和水を用いた. 1回の分配では80回の振盪を行い,49回の分配を行つた. 4,以上の方法でEnsilage中のV.F.As.は比較的に容易かつ正確に定性と定量が出来た. 5, Ensilage中のAcetic acidは0.7～1.3%の間にあつて,原料の種類或は品質の善し悪しには関連がない.しかしながらButyric acidはEnsilageの品質が悪いもの程その含量が多かつた. Red cloverで造つたEnsilageには少量のPropionic acidが含まれていたが,玉蜀黍を原料としたものには含まれていなかつた

Asset Holding and Consumption : Evidence from Japanese Panel Data in the 1990s

The 1990s crash in Japan's stock and land market should have had adverse effects on household consumption. This paper takes advantage of a panel data from Japanese households to evaluate impacts of the wealth gains or losses on households' spending. We find that stockholders' consumption is responsive to stock market movements while this is not necessarily the case for non-stockholders, suggesting the importance of "direct" wealth effects. Moreover, we observe the MPCs out of stock price and real estate price changes are roughly comparable and estimated to be 0.05 to 0.1 slightly higher than previous estimates using aggregate data

Quantitative estimation of the straight chain volatile fatty acids by the column Partition chromatography

In 1948 PETERSON and JOHNSON minutely described the column partition chromatographic method for the separation and quantitative estimation of the volatile fatty acids. In this experiment the partition chromatograms we employed were prepared as follows. The column was consisted of glass tube packed with silica gel, 30 cm in length and 8mm in diameter. Water was used as stational phase and benzene, 1.2% butanol benzene, 5% butanol chloroform, 12% butanol chloroform and butanol as mobile phase. Recoveries of formic, acetic, propionic and butyric acid were 104%, 101%, 99% and 100% respectively. We tried in vain to estimate the valeric acid in the presence of the acids previously described

L-Lysine production independent of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway by Corynebacterium glutamicum with the Streptococcus mutans gapN gene

Published online 29 March 2016We have recently developed a Corynebacterium glutamicum strain that generates NADPH via the glycolytic pathway by replacing endogenous NAD-dependent glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GapA) with a nonphosphorylating NADP-dependent glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GapN) from Streptococcus mutans. Strain RE2, a suppressor mutant spontaneously isolated for its improved growth on glucose from the engineered strain, was proven to be a high-potential host for l-lysine production (Takeno et al., 2010). In this study, the suppressor mutation was identified to be a point mutation in rho encoding the transcription termination factor Rho. Strain RE2 still showed retarded growth despite the mutation rho696. Our strategy for reconciling improved growth with a high level of l-lysine production was to use GapA together with GapN only in the early growth phase, and subsequently shift this combination-type glycolysis to one that depends only on GapN in the rest of the growth phase. To achieve this, we expressed gapA under the myo-inositol-inducible promoter of iolT1 encoding a myo-inositol transporter in strain RE2. The resulting strain RE2Aiol was engineered into an l-lysine producer by introduction of a plasmid carrying the desensitized lysC, followed by examination for culture conditions with myo-inositol supplementation. We found that as a higher concentration of myo-inositol was added to the seed culture, the following fermentation period became shorter while maintaining a high level of l-lysine production. This finally reached a fermentation period comparable to that of the control GapA strain, and yielded a 1.5-fold higher production rate compared with strain RE2. The transcript level of gapA, as well as the GapA activity, in the early growth phase increased in proportion to the myo-inositol concentration and then fell to low levels in the subsequent growth phase, indicating that improved growth was a result of increased GapA activity, especially in the early growth phase. Moreover, blockade of the pentose phosphate pathway through a defect in glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase did not significantly affect l-lysine production in the engineered GapN strains, while a drastic decrease in l-lysine production was observed for the control GapA strain. Determination of the intracellular NADPH/NADP+ ratios revealed that the ratios in the engineered strains were significantly higher than the ratio of the control GapA strain irrespective of the pentose phosphate pathway. These results demonstrate that our strain engineering strategy allows efficient l-lysine production independent of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway.ArticleMETABOLIC ENGINEERING. 37:1-10 (2016)journal articl

Studies on the Prevention of Leucocytozoon Infection of the Chicken. : VI. The Observation of the Gametocytes of Leucocytozoon caulleryi in the Unstained Wet Blood Film.

Usually the diagnosis of the infected chickens with leucocytozoon disease has been made by finding gametocyte of Leucocytozoon caulleryi in the blood smear stained by Giemsa's or May-Grunwald's method. But, as the inner part of the gametocyte can be observed in the unstained wet film of blood, the feature of the gametocyte considerably differs from that of the fixed sample. Method: One drop of blood from an affected chicken is placed on a cover-glass. This is inverted on a slide and the preparation is rimmed with paraffin. Then it is examined with phase-contrast microscopy at 37℃. Results and considerations: In macrogametocyte, the nucleus is rather small, usually have a curved or twisted rod shape and is suspended in protoplasm. The protoplasm is rich and filled with the immense number of fine granules. But in an usual smear sample, the nucleus shrinks and is covered with the granules at the time of smearing, and yet the granules are stained in dark purple by Giemsa's method, and hence it is considered that the shape of the nucleus is obscured. In microgametocyte, the nucleus is globular or oval, rather large in size compared with the size of the gametocyte itself, and placed at the nearly central point of the cell. The granules of protoplasm are a little larger in size and less in number than that of the macrogametocyte, and as the most of the granules are attached around the nucleus, these look like a pearl necklace in an optical section. As the nucleus expands at the time of smearing, it extends on nearly the whole surface of gametocyte and the protoplasm is seen indistinctly around it. As the granules are attached to the nucleus, they scatter on the surface of the nucleus as it expands. Most of the macro- and microgametocyte are covered with the membrane of the host cell. These cell membranes contain semifluid thinner than the protoplasm of the parasite. Some of which contain the granules of various sizes and they present the vivid Brownian motion. But these granules cannot be stained with Giemsa's dye

Studies on the Prevention of Leucocytozoon Infection of the Chicken : III. The Preventive Effect of Diaveridine.

1.diaveridineを飼料に最高0.01%から最低0.0001%までの各種の濃度になるように添加して,これを連続投与して本病の感染予防試験を行なった.その結果0.01%ならびに0.005%添加区においては感染が認められなかったが0.0025%以下の添加濃度では感染鶏が高率に認められた.従って本剤の最低有効濃度は一応0.005%の附近にあると思われる.しかしながら1964年度は,全国的に本病の予防剤としてpyrimethamineが発売されたため,岡山県下でも本病の発生が少なく,岡山大学農学部構内の鶏舎でも本病の感染率が一般に低かった.すなわち第1区の無添加対照区の感染率は35.0%であり,同時に行なった他の試験でも,薬剤無添加区での感染率は20～30%が普通であって,第1試験でみられたような濃厚感染は認められなかった.第2試験の0.001%添加区で81.3%の感染率を示したのはむしろ例外的現象と考えられる.従って第2試験の0.005%添加区がもしさらに濃厚な感染に曝された場合,果して完全に本病の感染を防ぎ得るか否かは疑問であるので,本剤を実地に応用する場合,最低有効濃度は0.005%より上にあると考えた方が安全と思われる.2.試験期間中における試験鶏の体重,産卵率,卵重等の推移を各区別の平均値で図示したように,いずれの場合も本剤がニワトリに対して毒性を示しているとは認められなかった.ただし第1図で,8月1日以後第3区および第4区の平均体重曲線が降下しているのは,第3区で2羽第4区で1羽がそれぞれ内臓型淋巴腫症に罹患し,体重が900gないし660gに減少したものが出たためであるが,8月29日現在の体重で,無添加対照区との間でF検定を行なっても5%の水準において有意の差は認められていない.第2図の平均産卵率の曲線についても,同様な傾向が見られるが,これも前記と同じ理由によるものと考えられ,期間中の総産卵個数について,対照区と各区の間でF検定を行なったが,いずれの場合も有意の差は認められなかった.3.ニワトリのcoccidium症に対するdiaveridineの効果は,前記の通りM. L. Clark3)によれば,sulfa剤と混じた場合0.001%であるといい,同じくpyrimethamineの効果は,S. B. Kendall&L. P. Joyner5)によると,sulfa剤と混合した場合0.004%が適当と認めている.従って,この両者はニワトリのcoccidiim症に対してはほぽ同等の効力を有しているものと見られるが,ニワトリのleucocytozoon病に対するpyrimethamineの最低有効濃度は著者ら2)の成績では0.00005%であるのに反し,diaveridineは前記の通り0.005%であるとすると,本病の予防効果では両者の間に100倍の開きが認められるわけであって興味深いことである.4.以上の試験により本剤単味の場合の最低有効濃度がほぼ0.005%であると判明したが,この濃度では実際の野外での応用の場合薬価の点で問題を生ずる恐れがある.したがってsulfa剤と混合投与した場合その相乗効果によりさらに投与濃度をさげる研究が行なわれないと本剤単味では応用範囲が限定されると考えられる

Studies on the Prevention of Leucocytozoon Infection of the Chicken. : V. The Leucocytozoon Infection in the Yearling Hen.

The investigations were carried out about the reinfection with leucocytozoon disease in yearling hens that were infected with this disease in the preceding year. From the investigations carried out in 1962, 1963 and 1964, the following results were obtained. 1. Among the 20 hens once infected with this parasite, the reinfection was not at all found in the same and the following years by the microscopic examination of blood smear sample made once every week. 2. Among the 22 yearling hens that were completely protected from leucocytozoon infection in the preceding year by the use of pyrimethamine or sulfadimethoxine, it was found by the blood examination that 11 hens (50%) were infected with this disease in the following year. 3. Eleven hens, in the blood of which no gametocyte had been detected in spite of the fact that they had been among the highly infected flock, were not at all infected in the following year. From the results mentioned above, we have come to the following conclusions. Hens recovered from natural infection of leucocytozoon disease acquire the strong immunity later. And the effect of pyrimethamine and sulfadimethoxine used in these experiments are quite perfect