Top Executive Turnover in Japanese Non-listed Firms: Causes and Consequences

We examine the pattern of top executive turnover among small non-listed businesses in Japan using a unique panel data set of about 25,000 firms for 2001-2007 and find the following. First, the likelihood of a change in top executive among non-listed firms is independent of their ex-ante performance, especially when the firms are owned by the top executives themselves or by their relatives. Second, non-listed firms which experienced a top executive turnover saw an improvement in ex-post performance relative to firms without turnover. The extent of the improvement is similar between non-listed firms and listed firms. All of the above results indicate that underperforming non-listed firms do not face disciplinary pressure to replace their executive, but that once new top executives are in place, they exert high managerial effort and thus significantly improve their firm's profitability.

Viewing the Sparkling Scenery of the Sea with Μαρμάρεος

Bright sea-views, their mysteriously multicoloured, resonant motion empowered with a sense of divinity, enchant viewers. One element is crucial; the significance of the light that brightens and darkens marine hues. Focusing on μαρμάρεος, through a colour-related epistemological approach, I examine μαρμάρεος’ metaphorical, transformed representation, illuminating the entangled interrelation between its bright-hued aspects and viewers. The view of sparkling sea at Il. XIV 273 is challenging to visualise, since colour, being co-involved with various factors, is a multisensory experience. Also, neuroscientific research indicates the positive benefit for humans of being near the sea, including viewing marine vistas. Distilling the unseen nexus between μαρμάρεος, light, and sea, which entails a two-fold connotation, my goal is to reveal the poet’s aesthetic, almost orchestral skill, conveying both visual effect and the sacredness of light, unveiling the ancient colour-sense.I luminosi paesaggi marini e il moto delle onde risonanti misteriosamente multicolore, uniti a un senso del divino, incantano gli spettatori. A tal proposito un elemento è fondamentale: il significato della luce che rischiara o incupisce le tonalità del mare. Per questa ragione intendo concentrare l’attenzione sul concetto di μαρμάρεος attraverso un approccio epistemologico connesso al colore, e analizzarlo metaforicamente, al fine di fare luce sulla complessa interrelazione tra le tonalità luminose e gli effetti che esse esercitano sullo spettatore. Il ritratto del mare luccicante in Il XIV 273 è difficile da visualizzare poiché la percezione del colore, essendo correlata a vari fattori, è un’esperienza multisensoriale. Anche gli studi neuro scientifici rilevano che la vicinanza al mare, così come l’osservazione di paesaggi marittimi, comporta benefici per l’uomo. Cogliendo il nesso impercettibile tra μαρμάρεος, luce, e mare, che implica una doppia connotazione, il mio obiettivo è mostrare il senso estetico del poeta, animato da un’abilità orchestratrice in grado trasmettere tanto l’effetto visivo della luce quanto la sua sacralità, svelando il senso del colore degli antichi

Measuring Economic Localization: Evidence from Japanese Firm-level Data

This paper examines location patterns of Japan’s manufacturing industries using a unique firm-level dataset on the geographic location of firms. Following the point-pattern approach proposed by Duranton and Overman (2005), we find the following. First, about half of Japan’s manufacturing industries can be classified as localized and the number of localized industries is largest for a distance level of 40 km or less. Second, several industries in the textile mill products sector are among the most localized, which is similar to findings for the UK, suggesting that there exist common factors across countries determining the concentration of industrial activities. Third, the distribution of distances between entrant (exiting) firms and remaining firms is, in most industries, not significantly different from a random distribution. These results suggest that most industries in Japan neither become more localized nor more dispersed over time and are in line with similar findings by Duranton and Overman (2008) for the UK. Fourth, a comparison with the service sector indicates that the share of localized industries is higher in manufacturing than in services, although the extent of localization among the most localized manufacturing industries is smaller than that among the most localized service industries, including financial service industriesMicro-geographic data, Economic geography

Activation cross sections of \alpha-induced reactions on nat^{nat}Zn for Ge and Ga production

The production cross sections of $^{68,69}$Ge and $^{66,67}$Ga by \alpha-induced reactions on $^{nat}$Zn have been measured using the stacked-foil activation method and off-line \gamma-ray spectrometry from their threshold energies to 50.7 MeV. The derived cross sections were compared with the previous experimental data and the calculated values in the TENLD-2017 library. Our result shows a slightly larger amplitude than the previous data at the peak, though the peak energy is consistent with them.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Brightness and movement of Argos in Homer’s Iliad¹

What is ἀργός? Whiteness? Luminosity? Or, simply a range of bright shades? Having undertaken an on-going research project on the perception of colour-sense in antiquity that explores colour’s metaphorical function(s) and its social role, in this paper I shed light on bright shades in the Iliad, mainly ἀργός, and examine their contexts to investigate how the poet employs ἀργός in developing a richer narrative, including character portrayal. How are various appearances of ἀργός composed and interconnected? How do they metaphorically affect their contexts? What do they symbolise within the narrative? Through detailed analysis, I show that ἀργός, being appropriately selected to contribute to each context as a significant indicator, plays an important role in brightening the context, effectively and picturesquely

Measuring Economic Localization: Evidence from Japanese firm-level data

This paper examines the extent of localization in Japan's manufacturing sector using a unique firm-level dataset on the geographic location of firms. Following the point-pattern approach proposed by Duranton and Overman (2005), we find the following. First, approximately half of Japan's manufacturing industries can be classified as localized and the number of localized industries is largest for a distance of 40 km or less. Second, several industries in the textile mill products sector are among the most localized, which is similar to findings for the UK. This suggests that there exist common factors across countries that determine the concentration of industrial activities. Third, the distribution of distances between entrant (exiting) firms and remaining firms is, in most industries, not significantly different from a random distribution. The results by Durantan and Overman (2008) for the UK and our results for Japan suggest that most industries neither become more localized nor more dispersed over time.

Production networks, geography and firm performance

This paper examines the importance of buyer-supplier relationships, geography and the structure of the production network in firm performance. We develop a simple model where firms can outsource tasks and search for suppliers in different locations. Low search and outsourcing costs lead firms to search more and find better suppliers. This in turn drives down the firm’s marginal production costs. We test the theory by exploiting the opening of a high-speed (Shinkansen) train line in Japan which lowered the cost of passenger travel but left shipping costs unchanged. Using an exhaustive dataset on firms’ buyer-seller linkages, we find significant improvements in firm performance as well as creation of new buyer-seller links, consistent with the model

Do Larger Firms Have More Interfirm Relationships?

In this study, we investigate interfirm networks by employing a unique dataset containing information on more than 800,000 Japanese firms, about half of all corporate firms currently operating in Japan. First, we find that the number of relationships, measured by the indegree, has a fat-tail distribution, implying that there exist "hub" firms with a large number of relationships. Moreover, the indegree distribution for those hub firms also exhibits a fat tail, suggesting the existence of "super-hub" firms. Second, we find that larger firms tend to have more counterparts, but that the relationship between firms' size and the number of their counterparts is not necessarily proportional; firms that already have a large number of counterparts tend to grow without proportionately expanding it.