Estimating economic unfairness in Japan and policies toward fairness

Sayaka Sakoda ()
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Sayaka Sakoda: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Kyoto University

International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, 2022, vol. 16, issue 1, No 5, 85-111

Abstract: Abstract Pre-tax income is affected by non-responsibility factors beyond an individual’s control and responsibility factors beyond an individual’s control; they could be defined as “situational” and “effort” valuables. If decreased pre-tax income derives from factors not attributable to individuals, such decline should be socially compensated. This debate is known as “responsibility-sensitive egalitarian theory”, which has been applied to empirical analysis in economics to identify causes of inequality. A wage gap between men and women has been observed in Japan for a long time; however, the gender variable has rarely been considered. Based on the “responsible egalitarian theory”, we estimate inequality using panel data from the Japanese Community Survey of Living Conditions (2010–2013), focusing on (1) gender and (2) age. This paper conduct three analyses: firstly, this paper estimate labour income using the panel data and examine the effects of situational and effort variables. Secondly, this paper considers how gender, regional differences, and educational achievement differ by using the results to estimate fair income. When we show the fair income difference in terms of the current age group, we find a difference in fair income between men and women and that the deviation from fair income to current income is more considerable for women. Lastly, by constructing a differenced based Lorenz curve, it seems that the type of unfairness differs by gender.

Keywords: Economic unfairness; Equality of opportunity; Inequality; Panel data analysis; Economic policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 D63 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s42495-021-00070-5

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