Confronting Income Inequality in Japan: A Comparative Analysis of Causes, Consequences, and Reform日本面临收入不平等问题

作者： Toshiaki Tachibanaki 著

出 版 社：

出版时间： 2005-12-1字数：版次： 1页数： 239印刷时间： 2005/12/01开本： 16开印次： 1纸张： 胶版纸I S B N ： 9780262201582包装： 精装内容简介

Contrary to general belief, and to Japan's own self-image, inequality of income and wealth distribution in Japan has grown in the past two decades. In this well-written and accessible book, Toshiaki Tachibanaki analyzes the movement toward more income inequality in Japan and offers policy recommendations to counter the trend. Tachibanaki, Japan's leading expert on income distribution, draws on new statistical data covering wealth, inheritance, farm and business holdings, salary, and other relevant factors, to demonstrate that Japan can no longer be thought of as a "90 percent middle-class society."

The book, updated and substantially expanded from Tachibanaki's 1998 Japanese bestseller, discusses the history and the causes of Japan's increasing income inequality and analyzes the effect on wealth distribution of intergenerational transfer. Employing cross-national comparisons to the United States and Europe throughout, Confronting Income Inequality in Japan examines the contrast between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome, evaluates equality of opportunity in terms of education and occupation, analyzes the relationship between income distribution and income growth, discusses the role of hierarchical positions in organizations, and considers the differences between welfare states and nonwelfare states. Concluding with policy recommendations, Tachibanaki argues against the belief of some economists that greater inequality is unavoidable if Japan is to achieve a strong economic recovery.

作者简介

Toshiaki Tachibanaki is Professor of Economics at Doshisha University and Director of the Millennium Project on Aging at the Economic Planning Agency in Japan. He has been a visiting professor or fellow at INSEE (Paris), Stanford University, the London School of Economics, the International Monetary Fund, and other institutions.

目录

Preface

1 Rising Higher Income Inequality in Japan and Elsewhere

2 History of Income Distribution in Postwar Japan

3 Causes of Rising Inequality

4 Wealth Distribution and Intergenerational Transfers

5 Equality of Opportunity and Equality of Outcome

6 Policy Recommendations for Some Efficiency and Equity Trade-offs

7 Concluding Remarks

References

Index