Structural adjustment and changes to employment use in Japan
This paper examines the determinants of structural adjustment in Japan and identifies
several factors that explain the use of certain employment types. Its findings are
based on a novel plant-level dataset that provides considerable detail on the types
of employees used by Japanese manufacturers between 2001 and 2014. Analysis of this
dataset shows that growth in the diffusion of robotics is linked to fewer non-regular
employees, which seems to be partially driven by the positive association between
robot adoption and the dismissal of certain types of non-regular workers. It also
finds that offshoring from Japan to other countries contributes to the use of both
regular and non-regular workers, while higher plant productivity is related to the
use of more regular workers. Finally, establishments that experienced job dismissals
appear to substitute non-regular workers for regular workers.
Published on August 20, 2020
In series:OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papersview more titles