Indigenous society and immigrants : tourism and retailing in Lijiang, China, a World Heritage city.

This paper examines the present state of commercial use of historical buildings, details of business categories, and descriptions of items on sale in the shops in the old town of Lijiang, China in order to investigate the problems of cultural-tourism development centered on World Heritage sites. In recent years, the usage of historical buildings built by the Naxis, the indigenous ethnic group of Lijiang, has drastically changed. At present, over 60% of shops are tourist-oriented souvenir shops and restaurants. Furthermore, over 50% of the shopkeepers are temporary residents, with a large majority renting rooms from indigenous owners. These findings suggest that the location of the minority's residence and its culture are rapidly changing as tourism develops. They also imply that a re-evaluation of policy is essential for the development of sustainable tourism

Frequency of contact with foreigners in a homogeneous society: perceived consequences of foreigner increases

Using individual data of Japan, this paper investigates how frequency of contact with foreigners is associated with the perceived outcomes of foreigner increases. Results showed that frequency of contact has a critical effect on perceptions and that its influence varies according to household income level

Institution, economic development, and impact of natural disasters

This paper uses cross-country data from 1984 to 2008 to examine how institution influences the number of deaths caused by natural disasters. The major findings show that the number of deaths resulting from natural disasters is smaller in countries with less public sector corruption, and for OECD countries with better functioning legal systems, but not for non-OECD countries

Natural disasters and their long-term effect on happiness: the case of the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake.

The great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) earthquake, which occurred in 1995, resulted in tremendous economic damage to the city of Kobe. Using individual-level data of Japan during the period 2000–08, I investigated the long-term impact of the earthquake on the happiness of surviving victims. After controlling for individual characteristics and characteristics of residential areas, the following key findings were obtained: (1) victims were more likely to feel happy than non-victims; (2) this tendency disappeared with time. This suggests that the aspiration level declined following the experience of the devastating event, which led victims to feel happier. However, victims adapt to the new circumstances with time

Corruption and Fertility: Evidence from OECD countries

This paper uses panel data of OECD countries during the period 1995–2003 to examine how corruption affects fertility. The Corruption Perceptions Index is used to measure the degree of corruption. Fixed effects IV estimation and the Arellano-Bond dynamic panel estimation are employed to control for endogenous bias and unobservable country-specific effects. Results suggest that the fertility rate is higher in less corrupted countries. From this, the argument can be made that lack of political corruption underlies desirable conditions for child rearing in developed countries.Corruption, fertility, political institutions.

LEARNING EFFECT AND SOCIAL CAPITAL: A CASE STUDY OF NATURAL DISASTER FROM JAPAN

Using Japanese prefecture level data for the years between 1988 and 2001, this paper explores how and the extent to which social capital has an effect on the damage resulting from natural disasters. It also examines whether the experience of a natural disaster affects individual and collective protection against future disasters. Using regression analysis and controlling for various factors such as the proportion of poor people, per capita income, and the number of natural disasters, there are three major findings. (1) Social capital reduces the damage caused by natural disasters. (2) The risk of a natural disaster makes people more apt to cooperate and therefore social capital is more effective to prevent disasters. (3) Economic conditions such as the level of income distinctly affect any damage, but hardly influence it when the scale of a disaster is small.Social Capital, Learning, Natural disaster

GAME INFORMATION, LOCAL HEROES, AND THEIR EFFECT ON ATTENDANCE: THE CASE OF THE JAPANESE BASEBALL LEAGUE

Can professional sports teams develop their fan base and increase attendance by using players from their same hometown? In the Japanese Professional Baseball League, the starting pitcher is announced prior to the game in the Pacific League but not in the Central League. Considering characteristics of starting pitchers such as their hometown and salary, and comparing the Pacific and the Central League, I attempt to investigate how and to what extent the release of information concerning a starting pitcher prior to the game affects attendance. My major findings are as follows: (1) In the Pacific League, the salary of the home team’s starting pitcher is positively related to attendance, while that of the visiting team is not. (2) In the Central League, neither the salary of the home team’s starting pitcher nor that of the visiting team’s affect attendance. (3) In the case of the Pacific League, the positive effect of salary on attendance increases when the home team’s starting pitcher is from the same hometown.GAME INFORMATION, SOCIAL NETWORK, BASEBALL

How Do Female Spouses’ Political Interests Affect Male Spouses’ Views About a Women’s Issue?

This paper explored how the degree of female spouses’ political interest affects male spouses’ views about women’s empowerment, using individual level data in Japan. Controlling for unobserved area-specific fixed effects, results showed that males were likely to consider women’s empowerment important if their spouses were interested in politics. This spouse effect was observed for conservative males but not for progressive-neutral males. Results were unchanged when the endogeneity bias caused by spouses’ political interests were controlled for. These findings suggest that female family members’ political interests and views play an important role in determining male views regarding women’s issues.Spouse, political opinion, women’s empowerment

Decomposition of ethnic heterogeneity on growth

Empirical results from a random-effects regression model show that ethnic heterogeneity has a negative effect on growth. The negative effect is seen largely in the hampering of efficiency improvements, but not capital accumulation.Ethnic fractionalization, Ethnic polarization, Efficiency improvement, Capital accumulation, Random-effects model.