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DOI： 10.1016/j.dib.2023.109467

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DOI： 10.1016/j.jup.2023.101519

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DOI： 10.1007/s41685-022-00267-2

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DOI： 10.1007/s41685-020-00165-5

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DOI： 10.1007/s41685-022-00227-w

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer Singapore  

This chapter analyzes the relationship between inter-regional network economies and regional disparities using stochastic frontier analysis. The current dynamics in Japan’s regional economic systems reveal a monocentric concentration in the Greater Tokyo Area. When the lock-in effect of agglomeration occurs, economic disparities between large metropolitan areas and local areas should expand. However, in Japan, regional disparities have not increased. Instead, economic performance in local areas has improved, and economic disparities between large metropolitan areas and local areas are narrowing. Therefore, Japan’s situation requires an explanation that goes beyond conventional agglomeration theory. This chapter shows that inter-regional networks enhance the effectiveness of borrowed size and repair the lost links between regional economic systems and agglomeration theory. The chapter reveals that the borrowed size effect has significantly improved production efficiency in local areas in Japan. The impact of the borrowed size effect is greater than the agglomeration benefit derived from the local size. The results also show that the development of high-quality transportation networks has enabled local areas to catch up to large metropolitan areas and reduce regional disparities. This suggests that the establishment of high-quality inter-regional networks is a significant policy measure to help reduce regional disparities in Japan’s economy.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_6

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Energy conservation is a crucial policy agenda for solving global environmental problems and enhancing sustainability. This chapter quantifies the possibility of decreasing energy consumption in the passenger vehicle sector by improving inter-regional networks and provides a way to realize sustainable development goals (SDGs). The efficient design of high-speed transportation networks enables economic agents to avoid using private vehicles, which saves transportation energy. The results reveal a nonlinear relationship between improvements in inter-regional networks and reduced energy consumption in the passenger vehicle sector. There is an inverse U-shaped relationship between the two. That is, a modal shift from passenger vehicles to railways occurs if the improvement in the regional network reaches a threshold value. Furthermore, this chapter clarifies the changes in energy consumption patterns due to the installation of the Linear-Chuo Shinkansen, a high-speed magnetic levitation train. The Linear-Chuo Shinkansen has the potential to improve both firm productivity and energy efficiency because firms facing environmental constraints can invest in energy conservation by increasing their profits. Notably, the Linear-Chuo Shinkansen can drive a modal shift from passenger vehicles to railways, thereby improving the energy efficiency of the regions. Through a sensitivity analysis, this chapter shows that the Linear-Chuo Shinkansen installation has the potential to switch the mode of inter-regional travel from passenger vehicles to railways. These results suggest that the installation of the new high-speed railway leads to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and is a trump card to achieve SDGs.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_10

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Energy intensity has not been deemed a suitable index of energy efficiency because it depends on various socioeconomic factors, such as energy prices and production size. Therefore, this chapter identifies desirable energy efficiency indices that overcome the concerns of energy intensity using the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) approach. The SFA approach controls for prices and income, mechanization, vintage, and climate factors to derive accurate energy efficiency levels. By using this approach, this chapter clarifies the energy efficiency level for Japan’s industrial and commercial sectors and evaluates the impact of regional agglomeration and inter-regional networks on energy efficiency. The results reveal that improved inter-regional networks have a positive impact on energy efficiency. Regions with well-developed transportation networks are highly energy efficient. This result suggests that policies aimed at strengthening inter-regional networks can significantly contribute to improving energy efficiency in Japan. Meanwhile, the results reveal that regional agglomeration has mixed effects on energy efficiency. That is, there are positive and negative impacts on energy efficiency. Initially, agglomeration economies inherently have a mixture of advantages and disadvantages, such as spatial externalities, congestion, and heat islands. By considering the nonlinear effects, this chapter identified that there is a threshold in the agglomeration effects, and both a positive and negative effect of agglomeration are at play. This result suggests that agglomeration sizes beyond the threshold level are necessary to enjoy agglomeration benefits.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_9

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Controlling greenhouse gas emissions by improving energy intensity and boosting regional economic growth are essential policy goals for realizing regional sustainability. Given the potential conflicts between these goals, this chapter examines whether regional agglomeration, which is considered a driving force for productivity improvement, contributes to improved energy intensity. Originally, regional agglomeration was considered to enhance productivity and competitiveness via knowledge spillover. Spillover effects, wherein advances in one firm’s efficiency spread rapidly to other firms, lower the overall cost threshold for improvements in energy efficiency. In other words, the regional agglomeration has the potential to improve energy efficiency. The results of this chapter demonstrate the significant effect of regional agglomeration on energy intensity. Notably, it was confirmed that regional agglomeration affects not only regional disparities in energy intensity but also temporal dynamic changes. This finding suggests that differences in regional agglomeration affect energy demand patterns via energy intensity. Furthermore, this chapter clarifies the regional disparities in the agglomeration effect on energy intensity. The local area specialized in the manufacturing industry has a more significant potential to improve energy intensity than the large metropolitan area. These results highlight the importance of regional agglomeration as a primary factor in energy intensity and suggest that regional agglomeration should be encouraged in regions to improve energy intensity, which could protect the environment while fostering economic growth.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_8

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This chapter reevaluates inter-regional network economies in Japan based on cost-based Solow residuals, a novel analytical approach. In most studies, inter-regional network economies have been measured as elements of technological progress in production functions. However, the conventional approach based on perfect competition raises concerns that measurements of geographical externalities depend on the behavior of economic agents. One way to mitigate this concern is to construct a model based on imperfect competition. The cost-share Solow residual approach provides reliable evidence of the geographical externalities uncovered by the conventional approach. That is, by applying this approach to geographical analysis, we can precisely identify inter-regional network economies under imperfect economies. Furthermore, by using this approach, we perform a sensitivity analysis on the installation of the Linear-Chuo Shinkansen (magnetic levitation train) to measure the economic impact of high-quality transportation infrastructure. The results show that the Linear-Chuo Shinkansen provides a significant time-saving effect not only in the region of origin but also in local regions other than those along the railway lines. That is, the results reveal that the formation of inter-regional networks can increase productivity not only in large metropolitan areas but also in local areas. The results of this chapter suggest that inter-regional networks via high-quality transportation infrastructure significantly enhance regional economic performance. This chapter provides empirical evidence for the national land plan in Japan.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_7

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This chapter provides an overview of the contents of this book. This book discusses the impacts of inter-regional networks on the regional economy through economic analyses. This book also has many implications for the national land policy in Japan. Japan’s national land plan aims to achieve enormous economic benefits through the upgrading of inter-regional networks. Connecting regions via high-speed transportation networks may help to improve regional productivity and environmental efficiency. However, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have assessed the significance of the national land plan because of the low availability of relevant data and the scarcity of analytical methods for accurately measuring inter-regional network economies. Therefore, this book provides analytical methods that can clarify the role of inter-regional networks in improving productivity and environmental efficiency. Based on plentiful empirical evidence, this book defines the role of inter-regional networks in the regional economy. Notably, the book provides indicators that capture the economic effects of inter-regional networks. Using these indicators reveals that such networks enhance geographical externalities in regions and improve productivity and environmental efficiency. These findings provide readers with guidelines regarding desirable regional economic policies for economies facing population decline.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_1

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For the society of population decline, improving productivity is crucial for achieving regional sustainability. This chapter presents the concept of inter-regional network economies as a new paradigm for agglomeration economies and clarifies the effect of high-speed transportation networks on total factor productivity (TFP) by using Japan’s regional data. The results show that inter-regional networks contribute more to TFP growth in many regions than regional agglomeration does. The development of high-quality transportation networks has promoted the inter-regional flow of economic agents. By increasing opportunities for interaction, these inter-regional flows increase knowledge spillovers between regions. That is, connecting cities through high-quality transportation networks and strengthening their connections with each other will lead to significant spillover from agglomeration economies, previously restricted to cities, to other regions. The results of this chapter confirm that high-quality transportation networks spread the economic benefits of agglomeration across a broader area through the effect of borrowed size. It can be concluded that measures for the development of high-quality transportation networks are essential for regional sustainability in the sense of expanding geographical externalities.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_5

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This chapter considers the determinants of Japan’s regional TFP. An increase in TFP can be achieved through two paths: The first is a shift in the production frontier, which amounts to an increase in output for a given input volume (productivity effect). The second is an approach to the production frontier by ensuring that outputs are closer to the production frontier levels for a given input volume (productive efficiency effect). The elements of external economies, such as social overhead capital (SOC) and regional agglomeration, affect both. From these two paths, this chapter clarifies the roles played by SOC and regional agglomeration in increasing regional sustainability by using the stochastic frontier model of the TFP index. The empirical analysis using Japan’s regional data provides the following evidence. First, SOC investment contributes to TFP growth and, more importantly, has a productivity effect and productive efficiency effect, mainly in local areas. Second, regional agglomeration underpins the TFP growth in large metropolitan areas. Third, the productive efficiency effect is high in regions specializing in internationally competitive manufacturing industries. It is concluded that providing high-quality public infrastructure and enhancing regional productivity are essential strategies for the government to consider in its efforts to achieve sustainable regional growth.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_4

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This chapter measures the total factor productivity (TFP) in Japan’s regions and clarifies whether a convergence of TFP disparities has been observed since 1980. Japan’s regional economies face global competition amid the challenges of a declining and aging population. Given these economic conditions, the Japanese government has sought to boost TFP to enhance sustainability in regional economies. This chapter measures TFP using Japanese regional data. Most of Japan’s studies measure TFP at the national level; few studies attempt TFP analysis in a regional context. Therefore, this chapter contributes to TFP research in the context of regional economies. Furthermore, this chapter introduces a stochastic convergence model to verify the regional convergence. In Japan’s study, cross-sectional studies show regional convergence, while some time-series studies do not show convergence. Therefore, another objective of this chapter is to provide additional evidence to supplement the discussions of previous studies. The results of this chapter reveal that Japan’s TFP has not only continually increased over the study period but has also reduced regional disparities. Furthermore, the results show that TFP converged to each region’s steady-state level rather than the national level. These results suggest the significance of regional production environments and provide policy implications for regional economies.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_3

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This chapter provides an overview of the regional economic structure. Japan continues to experience migration and a spatial concentration of economic activities in the Greater Tokyo Area. The theory on agglomeration economies explains that this population inflow enhances the Greater Tokyo Area’s increasing returns to scale. In other words, as population inflow in the Greater Tokyo Area increases its economies of scale, the gaps in the economic performance between the Greater Tokyo Area and local areas are expected to widen, and the regional disparities in gross value added (GVA) per capita should expand. However, regional disparities in GVA per capita have been shrinking rather than expanding since the 1990s. Conventional theories do not explain this phenomenon well. This chapter provides evidence of economic growth in local areas and the potential for economic advance. Notably, this chapter reveals that social overhead capital, industrial structure, and fiscal transfer have enhanced the economic power of local areas and helped reduce regional disparities. Japan’s experiences provide valuable insights into regional development policies aimed at achieving compatibility between economic growth and equitability.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-16-3709-4_2

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DOI： 10.1111/rsp3.12291

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：IntechOpen  

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.

DOI： 10.5772/intechopen.81482

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In the Japanese economy, complying with environmental regulations while achieving a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and regional economic growth is an important policy issue. From the perspective of national land policy, spatial agglomeration of populations is a potential solution to this issue. This study clarifies whether population agglomeration, which is a source of economic growth, contributes to the improvement of energy intensity in the residential and industrial sectors by using a dynamic panel model. The use of this model enables a simultaneous understanding of the short- and long-term effects of population agglomeration on energy intensity. The results of the analysis reveal that population agglomeration influences improvements in energy intensity. Specifically, over the observation period, population agglomeration improved energy intensity in large metropolitan areas, including the Greater Tokyo area and the Chubu and Kansai regions. In contrast, for less urbanized areas, population dispersion exacerbated energy intensity. These results suggest that forming population agglomerations will lead to improvement in energy efficiency. That is, they suggest that a compact city policy that agglomerates populations in city centers may be effective in improving energy efficiency across Japan.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-15-3970-1_11

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DOI： 10.1111/pirs.12474

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DOI： 10.1007/s41685-019-00129-4

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DOI： 10.1007/s41685-019-00126-7

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DOI： 10.1080/00343404.2017.1413238

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DOI： 10.1080/10438599.2017.1384110

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DOI： 10.3390/en11061557

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DOI： 10.3390/su10020469

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DOI： 10.1186/s13705-017-0135-y

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This chapter examines the impacts of agglomeration economies and fiscal transfer on productive efficiency in Japanese regional industries. Two popular methodologies, stochastic frontier analysis and data envelopment analysis, are applied to measure productive efficiency. The empirical findings are summarized as follows: (1) Agglomeration economies improve productive efficiency. (2) Fiscal transfer negatively influences productive efficiency. (3) Those two findings are observed for aggregated manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries, and for sectors in manufacturing industries. (4) The importance of agglomeration economies for regional industries has increased in recent years. Based on these results, this chapter discusses effective regional policy for Japan.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_9

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This chapter describes the research background three objectives of this book. The first objective is to clarify from multiple perspectives how industrial agglomeration influenced the growth of the regional economy in Japan during the 1980s and 1990s, when globalization of economic activity and the hollowing-out of industries were in progress. The second is to shed light on the industrial agglomeration effects from a dynamic perspective by looking at industrial development. The third objective is to propose a new analytical approach using the techniques of productive efficiency analysis. This book is comprised of ten chapters. A summary of each chapter is described in this chapter.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_1

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This chapter focuses on dynamic externalities that are a source of competitive advantages, and reviews the related empirical studies. Research on technical-knowledge spillover, the core of dynamic externalities, is being widely conducted, mainly in the field of industrial organization theory. However, there are few empirical studies that have considered technical-knowledge spillover from the viewpoint of industrial agglomeration. Some studies estimate the extent and type of dynamic externalities, and find evidence consistent with dynamic externalities. Despite the different data sources used, methodologies are similar. This chapter reviews the main methodologies of dynamic externalities, and discusses empirical analysis issues of previous studies.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_5

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This chapter proposes a new approach to measure agglomeration economies in Japan. Specifically, this study employs the Solow residual to confirm whether agglomeration economies exist in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries. This study also shows that social overhead capital has a positive effect on agglomeration economies. Currently, such economies are robust only in large metropolitan areas; however, they are present throughout Japan because of the disproportionate allocation of social overhead capital within the country.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_4

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This chapter sheds empirical light on the relationship between agglomeration economies and regional economic growth and the impact of that relationship on the convergence of regional disparities in productivity, using a traditional approach to agglomeration economies. Based on Japanese prefectural data, an empirical analysis indicates that agglomeration economies have significant effects on regional economic growth. Furthermore, agglomeration economies contribute to economic convergence in the manufacturing industry, while they contribute to increasing disparities across regions in the non-manufacturing industry. These results suggest that an increase in the proportion of non-manufacturing industries has the potential to create regional disparities.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_3

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This chapter details the role of industrial agglomeration in regional economies, and discusses the issues found in existing empirical studies. The role industrial agglomeration plays in regional economies has been discussed and empirically studied for a long time. Agglomerations include several related industries, and an abundance of specialized workers. Therefore, it is possible for firms to achieve high productivity through input sharing, labor market pooling, and knowledge spillovers. Such effects can generally be found in two cases: The first case is where an agglomeration of similar industries results in an increase in productivity. The second case is where an agglomeration of different industries results in an increase in productivity. Traditionally, these effects have been measured by external economies of scale, but an analytical approach has recently been proposed that uses spatial density to seek the source of external economies. This chapter reviews these research trends.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_2

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This chapter examines whether agglomeration economies, market access, and public fiscal transfer have a positive or negative influence on the productive efficiency of Japanese regional industries. To accomplish the research objective, this chapter applies stochastic frontier analysis to a prefecture level Japanese data set that consists of estimated spatial and industrial economic activities. An empirical result obtained in this chapter indicates that both agglomeration economies and the improvement of market access have a positive influence on the productive efficiency of Japanese manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries. In contrast, public fiscal transfer has a negative impact on productive efficiency. These findings indicate that many prefectures that are characterized by weak market access and/or high dependence on public fiscal transfer are often associated with low productive efficiency.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_8

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This chapter examines the effects of industrial agglomeration on productivity growth in emerging industries. The analysis employs four-digit data of Japanese manufacturing industries, and shows that (1) ceramic, stone, and clay products, general machinery, and precision instruments and machinery enjoy the advantage generated by proximity to other industries; (2) new manufacturing technology sectors, such as industrial robots, tend to receive agglomeration effects, although information technology sectors do not; and (3) most emerging industries do not profit from economies of scale. These findings reveal that emerging industries benefit from agglomeration effects and face market competition.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_7

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This chapter investigates how dynamic externalities promote industrial growth in Japanese manufacturing industries. In contrast to previous studies, this study characterizes dynamic externalities by total factor productivity. Using panel data of Japanese prefectures from 1985 through 2000, this study finds evidence of localization (MAR) externalities and urbanization (Jacobs) externalities. However, this study does not find clear evidence that dynamic externalities play the role of centripetal forces for industrial location.

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_6

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

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-10-6490-6_10

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DOI： 10.1007/s41685-017-0045-1

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DOI： 10.1007/s00168-017-0808-7

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DOI： 10.1108/IJESM-07-2015-0004

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer International Publishing  

In order to investigate the future trends of energy demand in Japan accurately, there is a need to clarify the factors that cause fluctuations in energy demand across regions; more specifically, to determine whether the energy demand fluctuations across regions arise from compositional factors, that is, differences in energy users, or from regionally unique factors. This study analyzes the determinants of energy demand change to clarify the factors that have affected the fluctuations in regional energy demands in Japan, using dynamic shift-share analysis. The results show that the energy demand fluctuations can be explained by both compositional effects and regional effects. With regard to the compositional effects, the energy demand growth increased most remarkably in the regions that specialize in residential and commercial sectors. However, energy demand did not increase in the regions that specialize in manufacturing sectors. With respect to the regional effects, there were constraints on energy demand in large metropolitan areas due to the improved energy intensity achieved through energy conservation. The results imply that having a mixture of industry and ResCom (Residential and Commercial) sectors in a region potentially flattens out fluctuations in energy demand changes. This finding suggests that when moderating changes in regional energy demand, an important step is to diversify the industrial structure in each region.

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-47566-0_2

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In this study, the Energy Consumption Statistics by Prefecture were utilized and the actual conditions of energy demand in the regions of Japan were ascertained. The results revealed that Japan’s national energy demand increased from the 1990s to the 2000s; and that the driving forces behind this expansion were the Residential and Commercial (ResCom) and Transportation sectors. In regional trends, the findings showed that the increase in energy demand in large metropolitan areas not only contributed greatly to the national increase, but also that energy demand in rural areas grew steadily. Upon considering the changes to regional energy demand by analyzing changes to energy demand per capita and population changes, the study found that energy demand per capita has a major impact on regional energy demand, and that in particular, the increase in energy demand in rural regions has been brought about by the increase in energy demand per capita.

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-47566-0_1

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Based on the rapid increase in residential energy demand, the question of how to raise energy efficiency in the residential sector, while controlling overall demand, is an important policy issue for Japan. In this study, the stochastic frontier model is used to estimate the energy demand function in the residential sector and to analyze the energy efficiency levels and their factors. From the results of the empirical analysis based on regional data in Japan, the following three points were clarified. First, the energy efficiency levels calculated using the stochastic frontier model were highly correlated with the energy intensity levels and are effective as an index expressing energy efficiency. Second, raising the regions’ electrification rates is an effective way of improving energy efficiency in the residential sector. Third, increasing the regions’ population densities is also an effective way of improving energy efficiency in the residential sector. These findings suggest that not only will implementing policies to advance electrification contribute greatly to improving environmental efficiency in the residential sector, but also that realizing decentralized, multi-polar national spatial developments may improve environmental efficiency and stimulate regional economies.

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-47566-0_5

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In response to increased environmental constraints, it has become an important policy issue for Japan to improve energy efficiency for the future, along with the growth of regional economies. This study uses a stochastic frontier model to estimate the energy demand function and analyze the levels and determinants of energy efficiency. The empirical analysis, conducted by using data from 47 prefectures in Japan, revealed the following four findings. First, the proposed energy efficiency measure (calculated using the stochastic frontier model) is found valid, as its ranking is highly correlated with that of energy intensity. Second, increasing population density is effective in improving energy efficiency. Third, improving regional accessibility by developing a highway network helps to improve energy efficiency in Japan. Fourth, the level of energy efficiency is deteriorating in areas where raw material industries are clustered. These results indicate that the means to increasing both economic productivity and environmental efficiency are to implement a regional decentralization policy by creating major urban areas across the nation and expand a wide-area transportation network to link these areas. In addition, the promotion of technological innovations through appropriate environmental regulations is important to advance such regional policies.

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-47566-0_4

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Along with various environmental concerns, Japan has an important policy issue arising from the development of its economy, which is how simultaneously to attain regional economic growth and energy efficiency. This study examined the impacts of agglomeration economies on energy efficiency of Japanese manufacturing industries. Using a prefecture-level panel data set from the Energy Consumption Statistics by Prefecture, this study reveals the following three empirical findings. First, productivity growth has improved energy efficiency, but not vice versa. Second, agglomeration economies, which are a driving force for productivity growth, have improved the energy efficiency of Japanese manufacturing industries. Finally, by agglomerating similar industries, localization economies are effective in improving energy efficiency in rural areas. The third finding is consistent with many previous studies claiming that agglomeration economies based on localization occur for many medium-sized cities. The result implies that an important policy direction for Japan will be to formulate medium-sized cities in rural areas than large metropolitan cities in terms of improving the energy efficiency of manufacturing industries.

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-47566-0_3

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DOI： 10.1186/s13705-016-0076-x

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DOI： 10.1007/s00168-016-0745-x

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：The International Academic Forum  

With environmental constraints being strengthened worldwide, an important question that arises for Japan’s economic policy is how best to achieve regional economic growth along with energy efficiency. This study examines the impacts of agglomeration economies, which boost economic growth, on the energy efficiency of Japanese manufacturing industries. Using a prefectural-level panel dataset from the Energy Consumption Statistics by Prefecture, this study obtains new empirical results: (1) agglomeration economies improve the energy efficiency of Japanese manufacturing industries; (2) localization economies positively impact the improvement of energy efficiency in rural areas, while urbanization economies positively impact the improvement of energy efficiency in large metropolitan areas. Thus, it is determined that agglomerating similar industries is effective in improving energy efficiency in rural areas; however, in large metropolitan areas, it is more effective to agglomerate diverse industries in order to improve energy efficiency. In general, industrial agglomeration as a result of economies of agglomeration, based on localization, occurs for the most part in medium-sized cities. The finding therefore suggests that it is more appropriate to formulate strategy in terms of medium-sized cities than large metropolitan cities in improving the energy efficiency of manufacturing industries located in rural areas.

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：The International Academic Forum  

This study examines productivity change and the factors of regional industries in Japan using a data set consisting of 47 prefectures over the period from 1990 to 2009. The data set is comprised of one output and five inputs for manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries; amount of real term production as an output and intermediate input, number of employees, private capital stock, social capital stock and final energy consumption as inputs. Using the data set, we measure Hicks-Moorsteen-Bjurek (HMB) productivity index proposed by Nemoto and Goto (2005). The advantage of the HMB productivity index compared with the other popular productivity indexes such as Törnqvist productivity index and Malmquist productivity index is that the former can be fully decomposed into factors to explain the productivity change over time. To calculate the HMB productivity index, this study measures the distance functions by applying a data envelopment analysis (DEA). From the results, this study indicates regional disparity has gradually expanded among regions, particularly after 2003. We show the increased disparity can be attributed to the reduced level of social capital investment for rural areas since 2000’s. Finally this study discusses desirable regional policy in Japan.

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：SpringerOpen  

DOI： 10.1186/s40008-015-0021-8

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1111/rsp3.12058

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1080/00343404.2013.795285

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CiNii Research

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s00168-015-0659-z

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1080/21681376.2014.953196

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1111/rsp3.12039

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.energy.2013.12.020

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：The International Academic Forum  

The global warming and climate change becomes a major policy issue in the world. To partly deal with the climate change issue from economics and business concerns, this study proposes a use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a methodology for unified (operational and environmental) assessments. The proposed DEA approach has been long serving as an important methodology to evaluate the performance of various organizations. Recently, many researchers have applied DEA to various environmental issues. A contribution of the previous DEA studies was that they found the importance of an output separation into desirable (good) outputs and undesirable (bad) outputs (e.g., CO2 emission and air pollution substances from production activities). Acknowledging a contribution of these previous studies on DEA environmental assessment, this study classifies efficiency measures into the two categories according to the treatment of undesirable outputs: (a) productive efficiency and (b) unified efficiency under natural disposability. The first efficiency does not incorporate undesirable outputs in the performance evaluation, while the second measure incorporates them to the environmental assessment. Using a data set regarding the manufacturing industries of 47 prefectures in Japan, this study examines their productive and environmental efficiencies to obtain policy implications. The important empirical finding suggests that Japanese regional industries need to make their further efforts to reduce air pollution substances and increase energy efficiency.

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1111/j.1435-5957.2010.00286.x

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

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CiNii Research

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