Determinants of new firm formation in Japan: A comparison of the manufacturing and service sectors

This paper analyzes the determinants of regional variations in new firm formation by industry, using the data of 47 prefectures in Japan. The results of this paper reveal the following evidences: (1) market access is the factor that promotes new firm formation in all industries, though the impact on new firm formation is greater in the service sectors than in the manufacturing sectors (2) the industrial agglomeration contributes to stimulating new firm formation in the manufacturing sectors and (3) while average wage is an important factor in the manufacturing sectors, it is not significant in the service sectors.

Determinants of Energy Demand Efficiency: Evidence from Japan’s Industrial Sector

With the growing demand for energy, improving energy efficiency has become a key policy issue in Japan. Therefore, this study estimates the energy demand function of Japan’s industrial sector using a stochastic frontier model and analyzes the level of energy efficiency and its determinants. An empirical analysis based on the data of 47 Japanese prefectures presents three main findings. First, installment in large production facilities deteriorates energy efficiency and second, it is effective in increasing the electrification rate to improve energy efficiency. Finally, improving productivity leads to an increase in the electrification rate. These results suggest that policies aimed at increasing electrification by enhancing the productivity of factories and offices significantly contribute to improving energy efficiency

Dynamic Externalities of Industrial Agglomeration : A Survey

This paper reviews existing literature on dynamic externalities which is the fountainhead of competitive advantages, and argues that rigorous theoretical and empirical analysis is needed to increase understanding of the role of technological spillovers in generating regional growth. Empirical analysis of knowledge spillovers is broadly performed in the field of industrial organization. Recently, a number of empirical analyses aiming at verifying technological spillovers accompanying R&D activity of companies have been conducted. In recent empirical literature on spatial agglomeration, many papers find evidence consistent with dynamic externalities. Especially, growing bodies of research have estimated the extent and type of dynamic externalities. Despite the different data sources used, methodologies are similar. As the survey of some methodologies has been carried out by McDonald (1997), this paper reviews the main empirical analyses of dynamic externalities as the complement−positioning

Persistent frequent subclinical seizures and memory impairment after clinical remission in smoldering limbic encephalitis.

Aim. To delineate a possible correlation between clinical course and EEG abnormalities in non-infectious “smoldering” limbic encephalitis. Methods. Long-term clinical data, including video-EEG monitoring records, were analysed in two patients. Results. The two patients were positive for anti-voltage-gated potassium channel complex antibody and unspecified antineuronal antibody, respectively. The latter patient had small cell lung carcinoma. Both patients had memory impairment and clinical seizures. EEG showed frequent subclinical seizure patterns in the bilateral temporal regions. Subclinical seizure patterns and memory impairment persisted over one to two years after clinical seizure remission. Therapy (prednisolone and chemoradiation in the two patients, respectively) resulted in decreased occurrence of subclinical seizure patterns and memory improvement. Conclusions. EEG seizure patterns may persist years after clinical seizure remission in “smoldering” limbic encephalitis and lead to memory impairment

Disorder-Enhanced Dimensionless Thermoelectric Figure of Merit zT of Non-stoichiometric Organic Conductor (TTT)2I3+δ (δ ≤ 0.1)

Sample dependence of dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) and power factor (PF) were determined for the non-stoichiometric organic conductor (TTT)2I3+δ (TTT = tetrathiatetracene, δ ≤ 0.1) with the simultaneous measurement of the electrical resistivity (ρ), thermopower (S) and thermal conductivity on small single crystals. Both the zT and PF show large sample dependence between 10 and 310 K, even though all the samples have nearly stoichiometric composition of TTT : I3- ~ 2 : 1 (δ ∼ 0). It was found that both the electrical conductivity (σ = 1/ρ) and S increase at room temperature as disorder — that is phase mismatch among the iodine chains — becomes more pronounced. This behavior contrasts the usual tendency that the S decreases as the σ increases in conventional conductors; and suggests a new strategy to improve the zT and PF by introducing an appropriate type of disorder