Economy and Social Inclusion – serie

This book examines the causes and consequences of suicide from the perspective of economics. The approach here differs from those in medical, psychiatric, epidemiological, and sociological studies of suicide and is thus novel in a way that highlights the importance of economic and institutional settings in the problem of suicide. The authors argue that suicide imposes a tremendous economic cost on contemporary society in a variety of ways, requiring the government to develop an effective prevention strategy. An empirical analysis using data from Japan and other developed countries shows that natural disasters and economic crises increase suicide rates, while liberal government policies favorable to the poor can decrease them. Further, the types of effective prevention strategies in the context of railway/subway suicides, celebrity suicides, public awareness campaigns, and education using data primarily from Japan are revealed.  This book ultimately contributes to an understandingof suicides and the development of evidence-based policy proposals. The Japanese version of this book won the 56th Nikkei Prize for Economics Books (Nikkei Keizai Tosho Bunka Award) in 2013. Yasuyuki Sawada is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank and Professor of Economics at The University of Tokyo. Michiko Ueda is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University. Tetsuya Matsubayashi is Associate Professor of Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University.

This book examines the causes and consequences of suicide from the perspective of economics. The approach here differs from those in medical, psychiatric, epidemiological, and sociological studies of suicide and is thus novel in a way that highlights the importance of economic and institutional settings in the problem of suicide. The authors argue that suicide imposes a tremendous economic cost on contemporary society in a variety of ways, requiring the government to develop an effective prevention strategy. An empirical analysis using data from Japan and other developed countries shows that natural disasters and economic crises increase suicide rates, while liberal government policies favorable to the poor can decrease them. Further, the types of effective prevention strategies in the context of railway/subway suicides, celebrity suicides, public awareness campaigns, and education using data primarily from Japan are revealed.  This book ultimately contributes to an understandingof suicides and the development of evidence-based policy proposals. The Japanese version of this book won the 56th Nikkei Prize for Economics Books (Nikkei Keizai Tosho Bunka Award) in 2013. Yasuyuki Sawada is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank and Professor of Economics at The University of Tokyo. Michiko Ueda is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University. Tetsuya Matsubayashi is Associate Professor of Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University.

Society has developed so that it accommodates the needs of intertwined people, but a question arises as to which people have been accommodated. Has everyone been taken care of in an equal manner? If not, who has fallen into the gap between the institutions that are supposed to accommodate them? This book is a study of these issues of economy and disability using game theory, which has provided a means of analyzing various social phenomena. Part I provides actual cases related to economy and disability, with the stories based on interviews by the author. Part II is geared toward a game theoretic analysis. This book explains disability-related issues by game theory and innovates that theory by deeply contemplating the issues.It is not common that first-rate theorists manage to make their research relevant and applicable to the most pressing problems our society faces these days. This is the remarkable achievement of this book. Akihiko Matsui, an internationally recognized leader in economic theory, succeeds in bringing profound game theoretical insights to the questions of disability, the social norms relating to it, and the ethical and economic problems they raise. The book is a tour de force, brilliantly combining economic and sociology, mathematics and philosophy, to provide us a fresh look at the way we run modern societies.Itzahk Gilboa, Professor, Eitan Berglas School of Economics, Tel-Aviv University and Professor of Economics and Decision Sciences, HEC, ParisThe present world faces a broad range of societal problems such as discrimination against minorities and conflicts between groups. The market mechanism may solve some of these dilemmas, but many others remain. This book targets various societal problems and provides game theoretical approaches to them, stressing the importance of social institutions including the market system and individual interactive attitudes to society. Aki Matsui’s splendid Economy and Disability is indispensable for students and scholars interested in social science, particularly in economic theory, and gives a better understanding of these phenomena and their potential cures.Mamoru Kaneko, Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda UniversityIn this book, Aki Matsui is revealed to be a fully-fledged humanist in the guise of a game theoretician. He beautifully presents game-theoretical ideas while at the same time suggesting how society should relate to the disabled. This unique combination makes Economy and Disability—apart from anything else—a truly moving book.Ariel Rubinstein, Professor of Economics, Eitan Berglas School of Economics, Tel-Aviv University and Professor of Economics, New York University

Society has developed so that it accommodates the needs of intertwined people, but a question arises as to which people have been accommodated. Has everyone been taken care of in an equal manner? If not, who has fallen into the gap between the institutions that are supposed to accommodate them? This book is a study of these issues of economy and disability using game theory, which has provided a means of analyzing various social phenomena. Part I provides actual cases related to economy and disability, with the stories based on interviews by the author. Part II is geared toward a game theoretic analysis. This book explains disability-related issues by game theory and innovates that theory by deeply contemplating the issues.It is not common that first-rate theorists manage to make their research relevant and applicable to the most pressing problems our society faces these days. This is the remarkable achievement of this book. Akihiko Matsui, an internationally recognized leader in economic theory, succeeds in bringing profound game theoretical insights to the questions of disability, the social norms relating to it, and the ethical and economic problems they raise. The book is a tour de force, brilliantly combining economic and sociology, mathematics and philosophy, to provide us a fresh look at the way we run modern societies.Itzahk Gilboa, Professor, Eitan Berglas School of Economics, Tel-Aviv University and Professor of Economics and Decision Sciences, HEC, ParisThe present world faces a broad range of societal problems such as discrimination against minorities and conflicts between groups. The market mechanism may solve some of these dilemmas, but many others remain. This book targets various societal problems and provides game theoretical approaches to them, stressing the importance of social institutions including the market system and individual interactive attitudes to society. Aki Matsui’s splendid Economy and Disability is indispensable for students and scholars interested in social science, particularly in economic theory, and gives a better understanding of these phenomena and their potential cures.Mamoru Kaneko, Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda UniversityIn this book, Aki Matsui is revealed to be a fully-fledged humanist in the guise of a game theoretician. He beautifully presents game-theoretical ideas while at the same time suggesting how society should relate to the disabled. This unique combination makes Economy and Disability—apart from anything else—a truly moving book.Ariel Rubinstein, Professor of Economics, Eitan Berglas School of Economics, Tel-Aviv University and Professor of Economics, New York University

This book addresses the essential topic of child survival in Tanzania, especially focusing on the role of mutual assistance, which has received little attention to date. Further, it identifies a range of key factors for child survival by combining a literature review, regional data analysis, and case studies. These studies center on rural villages in high Under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) regions and assess their strengths and weaknesses regarding child survival. By focusing on deprived rural areas as of 2002 and evaluating the improvements in the 2012 census data, the book also highlights the potential held by rural semi -subsistence economies. An analysis of the focus villages indicates that children in food-sharing circles had better chances of survival. However, food sharing is not necessarily inclusive; a significant number of children have fallen out of such circles, especially in mainland villages. Furthermore, monetary support for children’s medicine has often failed to arrive in time. Lastly, the book argues that, in addition to direct factors such as access to health services, water and sanitation, food intake, and education, it is essential that children receive inclusive support at various levels: family, community, village, national, and international.

This book addresses the essential topic of child survival in Tanzania, especially focusing on the role of mutual assistance, which has received little attention to date. Further, it identifies a range of key factors for child survival by combining a literature review, regional data analysis, and case studies. These studies center on rural villages in high Under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) regions and assess their strengths and weaknesses regarding child survival. By focusing on deprived rural areas as of 2002 and evaluating the improvements in the 2012 census data, the book also highlights the potential held by rural semi -subsistence economies. An analysis of the focus villages indicates that children in food-sharing circles had better chances of survival. However, food sharing is not necessarily inclusive; a significant number of children have fallen out of such circles, especially in mainland villages. Furthermore, monetary support for children’s medicine has often failed to arrive in time. Lastly, the book argues that, in addition to direct factors such as access to health services, water and sanitation, food intake, and education, it is essential that children receive inclusive support at various levels: family, community, village, national, and international.

This open access book brings together oral histories that record the experiences of individuals with intellectual disabilities in Shanghai as they participate in their careers. Employees with intellectual disabilities describe their experiences seeking, attaining, and maintaining employment. Their managers, colleagues, and family members also provide keen insight into the challenges and opportunities these individuals have encountered in the process of securing employment. An appendix provides a compilation of employment policies related to people with intellectual disabilities, particularly with respect to Shanghai.

This open access book brings together oral histories that record the experiences of individuals with intellectual disabilities in Shanghai as they participate in their careers. Employees with intellectual disabilities describe their experiences seeking, attaining, and maintaining employment. Their managers, colleagues, and family members also provide keen insight into the challenges and opportunities these individuals have encountered in the process of securing employment. An appendix provides a compilation of employment policies related to people with intellectual disabilities, particularly with respect to Shanghai.

This open access book contains the oral histories that were inspired by the work of the Special Olympics in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of its founding. The foreword and prefatory materials provide an overview of  the Special Olympics and its growth in the People’s Republic of China. The sections that follow record interview transcripts of individuals with intellectual disabilities living in Shanghai. In addition to chronicling the involvement of these individuals and their families in the Special Olympics movement, the interview transcripts also capture their daily lives and how they have navigated school and work.

This open access book contains the oral histories that were inspired by the work of the Special Olympics in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of its founding. The foreword and prefatory materials provide an overview of  the Special Olympics and its growth in the People’s Republic of China. The sections that follow record interview transcripts of individuals with intellectual disabilities living in Shanghai. In addition to chronicling the involvement of these individuals and their families in the Special Olympics movement, the interview transcripts also capture their daily lives and how they have navigated school and work.

This open access book is unique in presenting the first oral history of individuals with an intellectual disability and their families in China. In this summary volume and the two accompanying volumes that follow, individuals with an intellectual disability tell their life stories, while their family members, teachers, classmates, and co-workers describe their professional, academic, and family relationships. Besides interview transcripts, each volume provides observations and records in real time the daily experiences of people with an intellectual disability. Drawing on the methodologies of sociology and oral history, the summary volume provides an unprecedented account of how people with intellectual disabilities in China understand themselves while also examining pertinent issues of public policy and civil society that have ramifications beyond the field of disability itself.

This open access book is unique in presenting the first oral history of individuals with an intellectual disability and their families in China. In this summary volume and the two accompanying volumes that follow, individuals with an intellectual disability tell their life stories, while their family members, teachers, classmates, and co-workers describe their professional, academic, and family relationships. Besides interview transcripts, each volume provides observations and records in real time the daily experiences of people with an intellectual disability. Drawing on the methodologies of sociology and oral history, the summary volume provides an unprecedented account of how people with intellectual disabilities in China understand themselves while also examining pertinent issues of public policy and civil society that have ramifications beyond the field of disability itself.

This edited book empirically discusses stratification in contemporary Japanese society. It is unique for its examination of social inequality in relation to declining fertility and an aging population. Japan is the most aged society in the world: according to the Statistics Bureau of Japan, people who are aged 65 and above comprised 29.1% of the country’s total population in 2021. Meanwhile, the fertility rate has continuously declined since the mid-1970s. Japan experienced a dramatic change in its demographic structure in a short period of time. Such fast change could be a major factor that generated social stratification. In her industrialization, Japan was thought to share a pattern of social stratification similar to that of developed European and North American countries but with a low degree of socio-economic inequality and a high degree of homogeneity. There is no clear support for this description of Japan, although the country does share a pattern and degree of social stratification similar to that observed in Europe and North America. The social stratification theory has been developed in close relationship to the labor market; however, it is necessary to further examine the social stratification of very aged societies in which a substantial number of the population—namely, retired persons—no longer have any ties to the labor market. In this book, the contributors explore the pattern of social stratification at three life stages: young, middle-aged, and elderly. Included are discussions of various aspects of stratification such as education, work, wealth, marriage, family, gender, generation, and social attitudes.

This edited book empirically discusses stratification in contemporary Japanese society. It is unique for its examination of social inequality in relation to declining fertility and an aging population. Japan is the most aged society in the world: according to the Statistics Bureau of Japan, people who are aged 65 and above comprised 29.1% of the country’s total population in 2021. Meanwhile, the fertility rate has continuously declined since the mid-1970s. Japan experienced a dramatic change in its demographic structure in a short period of time. Such fast change could be a major factor that generated social stratification. In her industrialization, Japan was thought to share a pattern of social stratification similar to that of developed European and North American countries but with a low degree of socio-economic inequality and a high degree of homogeneity. There is no clear support for this description of Japan, although the country does share a pattern and degree of social stratification similar to that observed in Europe and North America. The social stratification theory has been developed in close relationship to the labor market; however, it is necessary to further examine the social stratification of very aged societies in which a substantial number of the population—namely, retired persons—no longer have any ties to the labor market. In this book, the contributors explore the pattern of social stratification at three life stages: young, middle-aged, and elderly. Included are discussions of various aspects of stratification such as education, work, wealth, marriage, family, gender, generation, and social attitudes.

This open access book commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics (1968-2018). This is the fourth volume of the first oral history about people with intellectual disabilities in the world and the first oral history of persons with disabilities in China. This book also includes stories from teachers, coaches, school principals, parent leaders, coworkers, and volunteers. They share their personal views on people with intellectual disabilities. The book also includes observations and records of what people with intellectual disabilities and others do on a certain day. It uses sociology and oral history to give an objective, neutral account of the lives of people with intellectual disabilities in China. It helps readers understand how the Special Olympics movement, public policies, social environment, and self-cognition affect people with intellectual disabilities.