In the United States and Europe, there is a growing movement toward stakeholder capitalism, which holds that companies should pay attention to the interests of various stakeholders. In Japan, the concept of “Public interest capitalism” is used for almost the same purpose. The common thread is the idea that corporations should play an active role in resolving various social issues, rather than just prioritizing their own interests and those of their shareholders. Such movements are emerging simultaneously in many areas of society, such as the SDGs, corporate social responsibility, ESG investment, and CSV. While such discussions are underway in the fields of business administration and public philosophy, they are not always properly handled in the framework of economics. I see this as a limitation of the “methodological individualism” underlying economics, and advocate an approach from a communitarian standpoint.

View full abstract

We propose two hypotheses on the effects of differences in the issuance of community currency on users' awareness and valuations. Hypothesis 1: The absence of paper money and the possibility of negative values that differ from those of the yen, will reduce the sense of money and lead to overuse. Hypothesis 2: The digitization of community currency, which brings convenience and efficiency in payment, will cause analog community currency to lose its characteristics as a communication medium. We test these hypotheses by seeking answers to the following three questions using a gaming simulation. Through the experience of using the community currency, 1. What are the differences in users' impressions of analog and digital forms of issuance? 2. How does the difference in the impression of the issuance form affect the users' evaluations of the issuance form of community currency? 3. What is the effective media design method for digital community currency based on findings related to the impression and evaluation of the issuance form? In response to hypothesis 1, we found that digital community currencies do not generally promote excessive use of money, but rather provide a sense of security regarding the use of digital currency through the unique digital deposit system and history viewing functions. As for Hypothesis 2, the convenience and efficiency of digital community currency reduce the opportunities for conversation and communication associated with the payment process. The results of this experiment show that users' impressions and evaluations differ greatly depending on the media used, such as whether the currency is issued via paper money or a bankbook, and whether it is analog or digital. Based on these results, we believe that the choice of the form of community currency should be determined according to the purpose of its introduction and the user group as it affects users' perceptions and evaluations.

View full abstract

This study aims to examine the effects of the gender composition of core members ---- representatives and staffs of executive office ---- in NPO organizations to its climate. Although some studies point out the factors that determine the organizational climate in NPOs, there are still unclear parts about these topics. In this paper, referring to the argument by Ueno (2003; 2005), I examine the effects that have not been examined much in the previous study. Focusing on the degree of intimacy and democracy among the members as organizational climate, I attempt to examine with using quantitative data. From the results of the analysis, it is confirmed the possibility that gender composition of the core members has an influence on the organizational climate. Specifically, it can be seen as the following. (1) Intimacy among members is reduced by the addition of men to the core member. (2) The degree of democracy is reduced by the fact that the representative is male and the core menber is “mixed” about the gender. However, due to the limitations of data used in this paper, it seems difficult to conclude that results as a general feature in NPOs. Since the possibilities presented in this paper are important, it can be said that similar studies need to be carried out after this.

View full abstract

This paper examines the social reform thought of Thomas Hill Green (1836-1882), a nineteenth-century British philosopher and a representative of British idealism. Based on Green's theories of freedom and the state, I examine his justification for government interference in social affairs in the latter half of the nineteenth century and its basis, and clarify the relationship between freedom and interference in Green's social reform thought. In Green, freedom means the capacity to achieve what is worth doing. What is worthy is the perfection of the person, which is also the common good worthy of all others. As a means of this freedom, in the sense of having the capacity to realize such perfection of the person, various freedoms such as freedom of contract are positioned. Each person also has rights by virtue of being recognized by others as capable of contributing to the common good, which is recognized by all. This allows everyone the capacity to achieve perfect, the capacity in freedom. Since all people must be able to be free, the state has a role to realize freedom in the sense of having the capacity to realize what is worth. Since the perfection of the person is a moral duty of each individual, it is not the role of the state to enforce it. The role of the state is to maintain the conditions for human freedom by removing the obstacles that prevent each person from realizing and shaping his or her capacity to do something worthy. Hence, in the interference of the state, the question becomes what and how is an obstacle to the perfection of the personality. In the sense that the role of the state is limited to the removal of obstacles to freedom and the maintenance of the conditions of freedom, it takes the form of a prior intervention, an interference with the conditions under which each person is able to perform, and these are the role of the state.

View full abstract

This paper categorized various freelancers into seven clusters by latent class analysis. Specifically, using “the Japanese Panel Study of Employment Dynamics 2019,” analyzed income and family forms as variables (n2,068). As a result, estimated a latent class with unstable income, but in some clusters, the family supplemented the income. Furthermore, as a result of considering the status of social insurance coverage, clarified the conditions for clusters with a high financial risk in case of injury or illness. It is considered that the conditions such as (1) old age, (2) low income, and (3) living alone are combined. The remaining issues are the analysis of factors related to freelance financial risk.

View full abstract

Community is an old and new research topic, and as a key concept in sociological research, it continues to be of interest to this day.　However, although attempts to form communities have been made in many places, they are still in their infancy. This paper, therefore, presents an overview of community studies in Japan from the post-war period to recent years, in order to present the issues in community formation today and suggestions for future community development research and practice. Even from the postwar period to the recent years, the perception of community has been in flux depending on the era. In the process of experiencing rapid changes in social structure, such as declining birthrate, aging population, decreasing productive population, and increasing relative poverty, as well as repeated large-scale natural disasters, it has become clear that there is a growing desire to form communities through the acquisition of specific methodologies and practices. The issue that arises is the segregation of the organization and activities of traditional community organizations and community organizations. Community organizations are expected to replace traditional community organizations in areas where local communities are declining, but this may prevent community organizations from fulfilling their original purpose. In order for community organizations to become organizations that work to solve local problems, it will be necessary to understand the characteristics of existing resident organizations and community organizations, and to consider how to segregate their activities, without losing the boundaries with traditional resident organizations. In addition, it is necessary to be an organization that is open to people outside the region, taking advantage of the characteristics of a community organization that operates in a wide area.

View full abstract