Variations in birth cohort size can be shown to have significant effects on both socio-economic and demographic phenomena. Among these is the presence or absence of a marriage squeeze against males or females. A marriage squeeze results when males and females of different cohort sizes enter the marriage market. The measurement of the marriage squeeze is not fully developed. This article examines adequacies of the sex-ratio measure which was developed by Akers and Heer and Grossbard-Schechtman and the Index of Marriage Squeeze, the S measure, which was constructed by Schoen. These are demonstrated specifically using data from 1950 to 1980. The sex ratio measure is based on the imbalance in the numbers between marriage eligible males and marriage eligible females. The critical concern relevant to this measure is how to decide the marriageable age for both males and females. When one compares the marriage squeeze phenomena using the fixed marriageable age in time series analysis, the measure ignores the changes of age preference in mate selection and cultural changes over time. In addition, the sex ratio measure does not take into account the various possible age-combinations of marriage partners. On the other hand, Schoen's measure has advantages as a measure of the marriage squeeze because not only does it recognize all age-combinations at marriage, but also it is a ratio of the difference of the proportion of unmarried males and females to the marriage rate in the two sexes. For Japan, all measures show the existence of a marriage squeeze for females from the 1950's to the late 1960's. The severe marriage squeeze for women in the 1950's is caused by a big loss of marriage eligible men during WWII, and the one in the late 1960's is caused by the "baby boom" female's participation in the marriage market at an earlier age than the "baby boom" men. In the 1970's, the trend turned into a marriage squeeze for males. The probable reasons are the "baby boom" effect on men and the postponement of marriage by marriageable aged women who selected to avail themselves of increased past high school educational opportunities.

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Population of Japan has steadily concentrated to urban areas. The tendency to concentration of population to urban areas has been found not only for the whole country, but also for each region within this country. In this paper, the concentration of population to urban areas found in Japan is quantitatively analyzed. Here, the degree of the concentration of population to urban areas is shown quantitatively by the proportion of population in the areas called "shi (urban)" to the total population. The changes of the proportions for the whole Japan and for each region within Japan were depicted by sigmoid curves, when we draw graphs of the time series of the proportion. The logistic curve could be successfully applied to the changes of the proportions for the whole Japan and for every region except Hokkaido. Additionally, the possibility of simultaneous application of the logistic curve to the change of the proportion for the whole country observed and that for each region within the country was theoretically examined. As the result of the examination, it was found that the logistic curve could be applied to the change of the proportion for the whole country observed and that for each region within the country simultaneously, when the change of the proportion for each region within the country satisfied some conditions.

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Conventional wisdom today follows Malthus in viewing the economic effects of population growth negatively. However Simon [1977] has challenged this view, predicting that population growth will have a positive effect on per capita income, at least in the long run. The researches of Minami-Ono [1971, 72, 75] and later works of Kelley-Williamson [1974] support this optimistic view. On the contrary, the works of Ogawa-Suits [1982] and the earlier works of Kelley-Williamson [1971] showed population to have large negative effects. In this paper an attempt is made to investigate these opposite views by using a general equilibrium growth accounting and some simulation techniques. Considering per capita income growth, it is clear that the direct contribution of population growth is negative while that of labor growth is positive. Less obvious are the positive indirect contribution of population and labor growth through the influences of population and labor on the rate of technical change in either sector. We measured the total contribution (direct contribution 4- indirect contribution) of population cum labor on per capita income by using a two sector growth accounting model. The calculated result shows that the total contribution of population cum labor growth tended to be negative in the decades 1880-1930 and positive in the decades 1930-70, with the exception of 1940-50. However, over the total period (1880-1970) population cum labor growth on average tended to make a positive contribution to per capita income growth. The research of Ogawa-Suits covers the period of 1885-1920, the one of Minami-Ono includes the period of 1930's which has a large positive population effect. This would be one of the reasons why we get these two opposite opinions for Japanese economic development. Another reason why Minami-Ono and Kelley-Williamson have such an optimistic view may come from the constant labor participation rates (i. e., they treat population and labor as identical).

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We set up the hypothesis that the changes of mortality are progressing with the changes in socio-cultural phenomena. The grouping of socio-cultural indices by sex from the 1920's to 1975 in Japan is used as the explanatory variable (X), and the stationary mortality rate by sex in the above years is employed as the dependent variable (Y). We set up the working hypothesis that a multiple correlation exists between X and Y. We employ correlation and multiple regression analysis, principal component and factor analysis and path analysis to prove this hypothesis. In the structure of component variables to explain the variances in Y, rate of second level school attendance, physicians rate and urbanization rate for male or female have greater contributions than the other variables. But examining the partial correlation coefficients, the indices having the most striking influences on Y for male or female are found to be related to those of education, economy and urbanization. The indices relevant to industrialization and health have less influence than the above, and have differences in the weight of influences between male and female. Our conclusion, after testing the working hypothesis, is that the changes of mortality by sex are influenced by the changes of socio-cultural factors. Thus, we can regard the above hypothesis as largely proved by the data of Japan in the above years.

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