Social Security Contributions and Employment Structure: A microeconometric analysis focused on firm characteristics

Yohei Kobayashi, Koichi Kume, Keita Oikawa and Tetsuro Sone

Discussion papers from Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)

Abstract: Against the background of the country's aging population, this paper empirically estimates the effect of the social security burden on the employment level and structure in Japan, using firm-level microdata matched with social security insurance data. In particular, we use dynamic panel data methods to estimate labor demand functions and thereby evaluate the degree to which social security contributions influence corporate labor demand. We specifically examine the impact of firm characteristics such as the presence of labor unions and the intensity of competition in the product market. Our empirical results indicate that social security contributions do not have a statistically significant impact on employment. However, companies that face harsh competition in their product and labor markets tend to substitute non-regular workers for regular ones in response to an increase in social security contribution rates.

Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2013-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age and nep-lab
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eti:dpaper:13067

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