ASABA Shigeru
Professor, Faculty of Economics, Gakushuin University
Dr. Asaba is a Professor of Management at Gakushuin University. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Ph.D. in Management from UCLA. His current research interests are empirical analyses on the impacts of foreign entry into Japanese markets, and on downsizing of Japanese firms.
Major works: Competitive and Collaborative Strategies - Toward Industry Standards, Yuhikaku, 1995 (in Japanese); The Principle of Competition of Japanese Firms - Empirical Analyses on Similar Behavior, Toyo Keizai, 2002 (in Japanese); Economics of Strategy, Nippon Hyoronsha, 2004 (in Japanese); "Inventory Reduction and Productivity Growth: A comparison of Japanese and US Automotive Sectors" (with M. B. Lieberman), Managerial and Decision Economics 18, pp. 73-85, 1997; "Why Do Firms Imitate Each Other?" (with M. B. Lieberman), Academy of Management Review 31, pp. 366-385, 2006
President and Chief Research Officer, RIETI / Professor, Konan University / Adjunct Professor, Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University
Professor Fujita served as Professor of the Institute of Economic Research at Kyoto University; President of the Institute of Developing Economies - JETRO (2003-'07); and Professor in the Department of Economics / Regional Science at the University of Pennsylvania. His research and teaching interests are urban economics, regional economics, international trade, and spatial economics. He holds a Ph.D. in Regional Science from the University of Pennsylvania.
Major works: The Spatial Economy: Cities, Regions, and International Trade (with P. Krugman and A.J. Venables), MIT Press, 1999; Economics of Agglomeration: Cities, Industrial Location, and Regional Growth (with J. Thisse), Cambridge University Press, 2002; Spatial Economics, vol. 1, 2 (editor), The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc., 2005; Regional Integration in East Asia: From the Viewpoint of Spatial Economics (editor), Macmillan, 2007
Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University
Professor Fukao teaches at Hitotsubashi University, and carries out research at RIETI as a Faculty Fellow. He has held teaching and research positions at numerous institutions including Bocconi University (Italy), the Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies of the Bank of Japan, Boston University, and Yale University. Professor Fukao obtained his M.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo.
Major works: Tainichi chokusetsu toshi to Nihon keizai [Foreign direct investment and the Japanese economy] (with Tomofumi Amano), Nikkei Shimbun-sha, Tokyo, 2004 (in Japanese); "Why Did Japan's TFP Growth Slow Down in the Lost Decade? An Empirical Analysis Based on Firm-Level Data of Manufacturing Firms" (with Hyeog Ug Kwon), The Japanese Economic Review, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 195-228, June 2006; "Productivity in Japan, the US, and the EU Core Countries: Is Japan Falling Behind," presented at the Third International Workshop of Joint Research Study Group "EU Economy" of the EUIJ Tokyo Consortium on March 25, 2007
Ron S. JARMIN
Research Director, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau
Dr. Jarmin received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oregon in 1992 and is currently Research Director at the Center for Economic Studies of the U.S. Bureau of the Census. He has published papers in the areas of industrial organization, technology and firm performance, electronic business, industrial classification, and urban economics. He has done considerable research on business dynamics including leading the development of the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Business Database, and productivity and the impact of government technology programs on the productivity and survival of manufacturing establishments.
KURODA Masahiro
President, Economic and Social Research Institute(ESRI), Cabinet Office, Government of Japan
Dr. Kuroda was Director of the Institute for Economic and Industrial Studies at Keio University (1991-'93) and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Commerce at Keio University (1993-'97). He has also been a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University. Dr. Kuroda's research interests are econometrics and economic policy.
Major works: Economic Policy and General Interdependence (co-author), Kogakusha, 1981; An Introduction to Economics, Nippon Hyoronsha, 1984; Quantitative Analysis on General Balance, Iwanami Shoten, 1989
Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Faculty of Economics, Gakushuin University
While serving as a Professor in the Faculty of Economics at Gakushuin University since 1999, Professor Miyagawa has also been a Visiting Professor (2001-'03) and Visiting Lecturer (2000) at the Economic Research Institute at Hitotsubashi University. He has also served as Director of the Nagoya Branch at the Development Bank of Japan (formerly Japan Development Bank [JDB]) (1997-'99), Associate Professor of the Economic Research Institute at Hitotsubashi University (1995-'97), Senior Economist at the JDB (1989-'97), Fellow at Yale University (1988-'89) and Harvard University (1987-'88), and Economist at the Economic Planning Agency (1982-'84) after joining the JDB in 1978. He obtained his B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo in 1978 and Ph.D. in Economics from Hitotsubashi University in 2006. His expertise is in macroeconomics, Japanese economics, and Asian economic trends.
Major works: "Sectoral Productivity and Economic Growth in Japan: 1970-98: An Empirical Analysis Based on the JIP Database" (co-authored with Kyoji Fukao, Tomohiko Inui and Hiroki Kawai), Productivity and Growth, East Asia Seminar on Economics, vol. 13 (co-edited by Takatoshi Ito and Andrew Rose), The University of Chicago Press, 2004
Research Counselor, RIETI / Director and Professor, Institute of Innovation Research, Hitotsubashi University
Professor Nagaoka serves as Director (since April 2004) and Professor (since 1997) at the Institute of Innovation Research at Hitotsubashi University. Formerly he was a Professor in the Institute of Business Research at Hitotsubashi University (1996-'97), Professor in the Faculty of Economics at Seikei University (1992-'96) and Director of the Office for Russia and Eastern Europe at MITI (now METI) (1990-'92). He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics and M.S. in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and his B.E. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo. His fields of specialization are innovation and industrial organization.
Major works: "Assessing the R&D Management of Firms by Patent Citation: Evidence from the US Patents," Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, spring 2007, vol. 16, 2006; "Determinants of the Introduction of Stock Options by Japanese Firms: Analysis from Incentive and Selection Perspectives," Journal of Business, vol. 78, no. 6, pp. 2289-2315, 2005
Chairman, RIETI
Prior to his current position, Mr. Oikawa served as Senior Executive Director, Development Bank of Japan (2003-'05); Adviser, Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. (2002-'03); Research Counselor, TEPIA (2002-'03); Commissioner, Japan Patent Office; Director-General Bureau of Equipment, Japan Defense Agency; Director-General for Policy Coordination, Minister's Secretariat; Councilor, Cabinet Secretariat; Deputy Director-General for Security Export Control, International Trade Administration Bureau; Director, Coordination Division, Bureau of Equipment, Japan Defense Agency; Director, Small Enterprise Policy Division, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency; Counselor, Japanese Mission to European Community, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Director, Paper, Pulp & Printing Division, Consumer Goods Industries Bureau. Mr. Oikawa graduated from the University of Tokyo with a B.A. in Economics.
Consulting Fellow, RIETI / Special Assistant to Director General, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau, METI / Visiting Associate Professor, Technology Management for Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Dr. Sakata joined METI in 1989, and has been a special Assistant to the Director General in Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau since June 2006. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo, an M.A. in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University, and a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo. His expertise is in innovation policy, regional economics and regional cluster, and tax systems.
Major works: "Optimal Structure of Social Network for the Growth of Regional Economy," Hitotsubashi Business Review, vol. 53 (3), 2005; "Do R&D and IT Tax Credits Work?" International Journal of Technology Management, vol. 32, 2005
SATO Shin
Executive Officer, QB Net Co., Ltd.
Mr. Sato has held his present position since 2006. He served with The Nippon Credit Bank, Ltd. (now Aozora Bank, Ltd.) (1995-2002) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (2002-'05) before joining QB Net Co., Ltd. in 2005. Mr. Sato graduated from Meiji University School of Political Science and Economics in 1995.
Bart van ARK
Full Professor, Department of International Economics and Business, University of Groningen / Executive Director, Economic Research, The Conference Board, New York
Dr. van Ark is a Full Professor in Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth at the University of Groningen (Netherlands). He is also Director of the Groningen Growth and Development Centre, a research group working on long-term economic growth and productivity, and Project Director of the EU KLEMS project - an international research consortium that produces growth and productivity accounts for European countries. From April 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, Dr. van Ark is on secondment to The Conference Board as Executive Director, Economic Research. He has written and been published widely on global productivity issues.
WATANABE Shotaro
Independent Director, Resona Holdings, Inc. / Director, Isetan Co., Ltd. / Former Vice-Chairman and President, Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives)
After graduating from the Waseda University School of Commerce, Mr. Watanabe joined the Kao Corporation, and served as Executive Vice President, Senior Executive Vice President, Representative Director, Vice President, and CFO, as well as being a special adviser in the management advisory committee (2000-'02). He has been a member of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives) since 1984, and a Lifetime Trustee of the association since 2006. Mr. Watanabe has also served as Director of Isetan Co., Ltd. (since 2002), Independent Director of Resona Holdings, Inc. and Director of Resona Bank, Ltd. (since 2003), and Auditor at Waseda University (since 2006).
