Economic Systems Analysis

This section includes study units on National Income and Wealth, Statistics, Econometrics, and Economic Systems Analysis.

National Income and Wealth

The primary research activities of this study unit are theoretical and empirical studies of national accounts and related topics. Because the system of national accounts forms the basic framework to overview the activities and effects of economic systems as a whole, it provides an indispensable tool for macroeconomic quantitative analysis, especially for econometric analysis.

Statistics

This unit is engaged in the development of statistical theory and the applications of statistical methods to economic analysis. The former includes the development of theories on sample surveys, economic indices, time series and multivariate analyses, as well as mathematical statistics.

Econometrics

This study unit is concerned with the development of econometric methods and their applications. Econometric model building, simulation, prediction and control based on estimated models are also included. Moreover, the development of methods for descriptive analysis of phenomena insufficiently covered by existing economic theories, and empirical studies based on these methods, are also important themes of this unit. These latter include a comprehensive study on time-series analysis and cross-sectional analysis, multivariate analysis and quantification of qualitative phenomena.

Economic System Analysis

This study unit examines both theoretically and empirically the workings of economic systems from the following view points: (1) information structure; (2) construction and maintenance of econometric models that assess policy effects; (3) welfare economics; (4) construction of software and methods of numerical analysis; and (5) cost-benefit analysis.

Research Topics of the Members

ASAKO, Kazumi

1. Construction of business cycle forecast models
2. Business cycle analysis of regional economy
3. Analyses of environment and social capital

OSHIO, Takashi

1. The impact of social security programs on labor supply of the elderly
2. The impact of regional income disparity and poverty on self-rated health and happiness of individuals
3. The impact of tax reforms on social welfare

WATANABE, Toshiaki

1. Estimation of financial volatility using high-frequency data with its application to risk management, such as volatility forecasting, option pricing, and Value at Risk (VAR)
2. Bayesian analysis of macroeconometric models, such as DSGE models, DSGE-VAR models, time varying parameter VAR models, and Markov switching models using MCMC