日 時 : 2016年07月14日(木)16:30−18:00
場 所 : 3F1115
講演者 : 山崎 潤一 氏(London School of Economics and Political Science)
演 題 : Railroad, Technology Adoption, and Population Growth: Evidence from New
Data in 1881-1920 Japan
< Abstract >
Railroad is often considered as one of the key infrastructure to accelerate
economic growth, but little is known about the causal impact of railroad on
technology adaption. I estimated it using Japanese railroad network expansion in
late 19th and early 20th century, by digitizing factory level data about
technology adaption, measured by the introduction of steam engine by the
factories. To overcome endogeneity problem, I exploited the government policy
objective and geographical cost of construction, to use cost minimizing path
connecting destinations as instrument, conditional on local geographies. The
results indicate that railroad access increased substantial amount of technology
adoption, which supports a view that railroad was the key of Japanese successful
catch-up in technology. I will also discuss potential theoretical channels and
also other outcomes such as population.
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日 時 : 2016年07月15日(金)10:00−11:30
場 所 : 3F1115
講演者 : 山崎 潤一 氏(London School of Economics and Political Science)
演 題 : Time Horizon of Government and Public Goods Provision
< Abstract >
Political economy literature recognizes that longer time horizon of government
is one of the key of local public goods provision. I use a unique event in
Japanese history (Edo period, 1615-1868) to test this hypothesis. In 1651, the
sudden death of the third Shogun (the executive leader of Tokyo government) gave
rise to a political crisis and reduced the transfer risk of local lords,
especially for particular political identity, insiders. To exploit this regime
change, I digitized the records of public investment in irrigation and other
agricultural infrastructure and by Difference-in-Difference strategy I find that
regions owned by insiders started the number of project financed by local lords
more than other regions, after this regime change. To confirm that this reduced
form effect is coming from longer time horizon hypothesis, I also discuss other
possible policies which might explain this reduced form effect such as in-kind
intergovernmental transfer or other possible effects of reduced tenure risk such
as experience effect, and I find no significant results for these. Therefore, I
conclude that the data supports long time horizon hypothesis.
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