Paternity leave, fathers’ parental leave, has been implemented in many countries. The uptake rate of paternity leave remains low in Japan, though the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act allows all employees, including men, to take parental leave. A possible reason for the low uptake rate may be misperceptions about others’ opinions. This study conducted an online survey with 300 men and women in their 20s, 40s, and 60s, asking them whether they approve or disapprove of paternity leave and asking them to guess the approval rate of other survey participants by gender and age group. We find the existence of misperceptions, showing that the average of the perceived approval rate of others (51.7%) is significantly lower than the actual approval rate (91.0%).We also find that for the older age group, the perceived approval rate is lower, and the magnitude of misperceptions is larger. Furthermore, the perceived approval rate is lower for men within the same age group. Additionally, the results reveal that men’s willingness to take paternity leave is positively associated with perceptions toward women in their 20s.

We use the unique data on consumption and time use of married couples to measure intra-household inequality. Following Lise and Seitz (2011), we estimate consumption inequality between households in Japan. We find that consumption inequality between households has remained stable since 2000, while intra-household inequality has declined. We also examine whether intra-household inequality affects subjective well-being of wives. We find that inequality in intra-household consumption reduces the subjective well-being of wives. Our results are robust when we consider the relative income hypothesis. Our findings suggest that subjective well-being is affected by inequality both between and within households.

This paper examines the relationship between financial literacy (both objective and subjective) and portfolio diversification. We have found that individuals with higher objective financial literacy are more likely to diversify their assets. In addition, those with higher objective financial literacy and higher subjective financial literacy are more likely to diversify their assets. Furthermore, based on the theory of planned behavior, we analyzed the pathways through which financial literacy affects portfolio diversification. Our findings demonstrated that subjective financial literacy affects portfolio diversification intentions and behavior through attitudes toward portfolio diversification, subjective norms (i.e., the thoughts and behavior of those around them), and behavioral control. In contrast, objective financial literacy affects portfolio diversification intentions and behavior only through attitudes and behavioral control.

This study conducted laboratory experiments to examine the stability of preferences by investigating whether exogenous shocks, such as natural disasters, alter subjects’ risk preferences. Subjectss were exposed to exogenous shocks under conditions of risk, ambiguity, and unawareness. However, the mean value of the certainty equivalent did not change before and after the shocks in any of these conditions.