Overview
2007
This project focuses on Japan's non-manufacturing industries (broadly-defined service industries), which are said to be lagging behind the U.S. and Europe in productivity, and seeks to identify the following two points: (1) current levels of productivity in Japan's service industries, and (2) policy measures for boosting productivity. Regarding (1), we will review the problems related to productivity measurement in service industries, and will survey the methodologies used in various countries for this purpose. In addition, we will review the current levels of productivity in Japan's service industries by comparing the characteristics of service industries with those of the U.S. and Europe, and with those of manufacturing industries. As for (2), we will focus on regulatory reform and IT investments and analyze how industrial structures and productivity were affected in industries that experienced regulatory reform and active IT investment during the 1990s.
July 17, 2007 - June 30, 2008
