Education, Human Capital Investment, and Innovation in the Contemporary Japanese Economy

Tamotsu Nakamura has been the Executive Vice President of Kobe University since 2021 and has served as a Professor of Economics since 2003. He is an Adjunct Professor of Economics at Xiamen University in China. He was also a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He received his Ph.D. from Kobe University. His research interests include macroeconomic dynamics and income inequalities. He has published many papers in refereed journals, such as the Journal of Economic Inequality, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Metroeconomica, and Sustainability. Tomoyuki Tamagawa has served as a Vice Principal at Tsukuda Junior High School in Osaka, Japan, since 2021. He has about ten years of experience as a junior high school mathematics teacher. He received his BA and MA in economics from Kobe University. He is now a Ph.D. student at Kobe University. His main research interests include the economic effects of education andhuman capital investment. Shinji Oi has worked for more than 35 years at a Japanese broadcasting station and possesses extensive experience in human resource development. He received his BA and MA in economics from Kobe University. He also obtained his MS from Okayama University of Science. He is now a Ph.D. student at Kobe University. His research focuses on economic growth through human resource development and labor mobility. Tokuji Saita is well versed not only in the realities and practices in the financial industry but also in the financial system as a whole. He worked as a front-line banker for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation for about 30 years and then insurance agency Ginsen Corporation as a managing executive officer. He received his BA and MA in economics from Kobe University. He is now a Ph.D. student at Kobe University. His main research interests are economic-growth and innovation.

• Chapter 1:- Relationship between educational attainment and class size: Effects of teacher resource allocation.- Chapter 2:- Investment in general and specific human capital: Social optimality via labor turnover.- Chapter3:-Necessity of openness to stimulate innovation: An investigation into causes of slow innovation.