Compilation and Analysis of Econometric Data for the Household Behavior in Japan

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This study has been motivated by the oft-observed deep gap between the axiomatic system of pure economic/econometric theory and the empirical/statistical data for theory veryfication. The project started with a search for a device to fill this gap by focusing our attention upon the household behavior in the labor market in Japan with the final goal of constructing a genuinely empirical theory in mind.The first stage of our two-stage project consisted mainly of preliminary workshops: literature review for checking with available data and brainstorming for new ideas. The second stage featured compilation and analysis of the cross-sectional data on the household behavior with an emphasis on the housewives' behavior needed for the formation of an empirically interpreted theory as well as theory testing Our 1,200 random samples are chosen from the households in two megalopoleis areas around Tokyo and Osaka. Questionaires were left with these sample households for them to fill out and collected a week later. This method was repeated after an interval. The rate of effective return on both trials amounted to 70% approximately. The results have been edited, analyzed, and stored in the magnetic tape on an individual data basis. The data include the monthly income, consumption and the individual's weekly averages of hours spent on work, leisure, commuting, etc. The magnetic tape will be available upon request.We have also developed a computer program for nonlinear estimation as a tool to analyze the obtained data. This will enable us to estimate the household production function or its dual --- cost function.