This paper is an analysis using chiefly unit vote data for 2000 and 2015 from the agricultural census to investigate the structural changes that have taken place particularly among beef cattle breeders in South Korea’s livestock farming since South Korea began to proactively enter into free trade agreements in the 2000s.　Our analysis has uncovered the following points.

　First, the rankings of beef cattle breeders by the scale of the herds being raised have changed.　In 2000, the ratio of small-scale beef cattle breeders to total beef cattle breeders was 93.5%, while the percentage of beef cattle they were raising to the total number of beef cattle was 50.1%.　By 2015, the number of small-scale breeders had considerably declined, to merely 59.2% of all cattle breeders.　In addition, they accounted for only 12.3% of all the cattle being bred.

　Second, many farmers who had been raising small herds of beef cattle on the side while cultivating rice have exited the beef cattle business.　Numerous small-scale operations consist of farmers who are raising beef cattle in addition to their main business of growing rice and other crops.　Between 2000 and 2015, the total number of beef cattle breeders declined by about 180,000, while that of small-scale cattle breeders raising cattle in addition to their main business of rice cultivation declined by about 160,000.

　Third, while areas with high concentrations of small-scale herds are shrinking, areas with high concentrations of largescale herds are increasing.　Looking at the percentage of small-scale breeders by area, we see that areas wherein the percentage of small-sized breeders is 80% or more （i.e., areas with high ratios of small cattle breeders） constituted 85.7% of all areas in 2000;however, we also see that this had diminished to 3.3% by 2015.

　Between 2000 and 2015, the number of South Korean farmers engaged in cattle-raising operations, particularly those with small herds whose main business was rice cultivation, dropped precipitously.　The ratio of beef cattle produced on a small scale dropped as well.　At the same time, the percentage of largescale farms steadily increased, along with their share of beef cattle production.

JEL Classification:Q12

　If housing is not earthquake-proof, external diseconomies exist, for example, collapse of houses disturbs firefighting during an earthquake.　Lives must also be guarded against earthquakes.　20.7% of housing in Japan is not earthquake-proof.　Implementation rate of construction work for earthquake-proof conversions is only 3.5%.　Thus, there are needs for housing policies to make rental housing more earthquake-proof.　In this paper, we explore the cause of low rate of earthquake conversions of rental housing and provide a method to estimate the amount of subsidy needed to improve the situation.

　In particular, firstly, we develop a method to estimate consumers’ evaluation of earthquake-proof conversions of rental housing.　Secondly, we explore a way to judge a rental firm’s profitability of construction work to make rental houses earthquake-proof.　Thirdly, based on the above, we provide a calculation method to determine the amount of subsidy needed for earthquake-proof conversion of rental housing.　Finally, we examine factors that affect consumers’ willingness to pay for earthquake-proof conversion of housing.

　We deal with earthquake-proof conversion of rental housing, since firms that rent houses will carry out earthquake-proof conversion projects if net profit of this project is positive.　Therefore, subsidy can advance firm projects of earthquake-proof conversion of housing by covering the differences between profit and cost of the project.

　We apply the above methods to rental apartment buildings in the Tokyo Metropolitan area and Miyagi Prefecture, and found that although 84.41% of people replied that earthquake-proof conversion of housing is necessary, they will pay only less than 3,000 yen per month in addition to the present rent for earthquake-proof conversion of housing.　This shows the current situation that earthquake-proof conversion of housing is not profitable for rental firms, and that there is a need for subsidies to make houses more earthquake-proof in Japan.We construct a framework for subsidies of municipal governments for earthquake-proof conversion of housing.

JEL Classifications:R38, D12, H29

　Since populations and industries were concentrated in Tokyo, Osaka and other metropolitan areas in the 1980s, regional policies of Japan until around the 1990s primarily focused on the decentralization of various functions from large cities to rural areas.　Especially, the Japanese government prohibited the location of industrial plants over 500 m² in Tokyo, 1,000 m² in Osaka and neighboring areas in the laws from 1959～2002 and 1964～2002.　However, Nagoya and other areas were not regulated.This regulation is criticized because it lowered Total Factor Productivity （TFP） in the overall Japanese economy.

　Empirical analysis of the regional economies has been based on prefectural statistics.　However, regulations that prohibited the building of industrial plants targeted the cities.　Therefore, the author collected TFP data from the 1980s for the cities and wards of Japan and compared the effects of regulated and unregulated areas by applying the Treatment Effect Model.

　This paper examines the repeal of the law in 2002 and shows that the increase of TFP in these restricted areas was significantly different from other areas of Japan after the abolition of the law in 2002.

　The results imply that the deregulation in the metropolitan areas was favorable in terms of enhancing productivity in those areas, which may have led to revitalize of the entire economy.

　This regulation has redressed regional disparities and promoted a balanced nation-wide development of Japan.However, it may prevent the increase of TFP in the whole country.　Policymakers should take heed to these side-effects when they plan regulations regarding factory location.

JEL Classifications:C21, D24, R11, R12, R15, R52

　Of the public facilities owned by the basic municipality, the elementary and junior high school related facilities occupying more than 40% of the floor space based on the floor area are facilities for implementing compulsory education services.　However, school facilities also have certain functions from the viewpoint of out-of-purpose use such as disaster prevention in the region.

　Out-of-purpose use of school facilities can be used for social education, sports promotion, other elections, disasters and emergencies.　Many of these functions are supposed to selectively or optionally utilize school facilities by local residents, etc.

　This paper aims to examine and discuss the nature and role of project evaluation in the reorganization of school facilities.　It is the basis for building an evaluation method for public facility restructuring that contributes to regional sustainability.

　The travel cost method with the movement to school facilities as a proxy market and the hedonic price method using real estate prices reflecting access to school facilities are suitable for comprehensive evaluation method of multipurpose use.　However, in either case, since distance and accessibility to school facilities are subject to evaluation, several problems arise.　For one thing, preference for school facilities to school facilities will also be evaluated together, so it can be difficult to screen out from non-purpose use.　For example, differences in land prices by school districts may represent preferences for school academic ability and quality of households more than preference for non-purpose use.　Also, since school districts of elementary and junior high schools are generally within walking distance, it is conceivable that difference in access time and distance constituting a travel expenses for non-purpose use is difficult to differ.

　As described above, it is desirable that a method that can be evaluated comprehensively, which can be distinguished from other use purpose （school education） of school facilities, for evaluation of non-purpose use.　Therefore, it is considered that a discrete choice method that can describe multiple elements making up the utility function and can estimate the evaluation from the relation between utility and selection is suitable.

　For the elementary and junior high school facilities owned by the municipality, we conducted a questionnaire survey on the utilization of facilities for local residents.

　Regarding the binary choice of using the nearest school or not, we performed logit regression using several attributes of the questionnaire respondent as explanatory variables.

　Regarding the use outside the purpose of school, household income, sex, participation in school events, survival hope of school, area of gymnasium, and area of buildings has explanatory power.

JEL Classifications:D61, H83, R53

　In recent years, the phenomenon of “Winner takes all” has been pointed out as a tendency of new urbanization （Florida, 2017）.　In other words, in some cities （superstar cities）, population/economic scale, number of start-ups due to venture investment, number of millionaire, etc. are overwhelming other cities, concentration of wealth is occurring.　On the other hand, the original urban residents are driven to the suburbs and are becoming marginalized （Gentrification）.　In order to survive fierce global competition and realize its high creativity, cities are making policies to attract creative classes （CCs） and at the same time to involve the social weak （low income, elderly, disabled people, social minorities, etc.） into the process of development to achieve sustainability.　In particular, to solve the social problems that global cities have, social innovation from the viewpoint of social business related to urban agriculture created by CCs such as urban agricultural creators seems to be effective.

　The purpose of this research is to clarify the relationship between multi-functionality of urban agriculture （MFUA） as city amenity and creative classes （CCs） for Tokyo and Shanghai which are two global cities in Asia.　Specifically, based on existing studies on creative classes （CC）, multi-functionality of agriculture （MFA）, social capital （SC） and social business （SB）, we constructed a model showing that these factors contribute to the sustainability of global cities, and verified the model through the covariance structure model （SEM） analysis using the authors’ original questionnaire survey targeting the residents in the two cities.　In addition to creative classes based on traditional creative occupations, we also focused on CC based on Creative Thinking, their orientation toward multi-functionality of agriculture and the relationship with social capital, and how they engage in social business.　

　The following results are obtained from our analysis.　First, the creative classes （both creative occupation and creative thinking） in Tokyo and Shanghai prefer multi-functionality of agriculture than non-CC （Hypothesis 1）, such tendency is more strongly evident in Tokyo.　Secondly, people who are creative thinking in both cities have a high level of social capital （Hypothesis 2）, and strong willingness to participate in social business （Hypothesis 3）.　Based on the analytical results, we draw the implication for urban policies to facilitate CC （both creative occupation and creative thinking） to actively participate in the social businesses by making full use of multi-functionality of agriculture in order to solve the social problems in global cities.

JEL Classification:R11

　In FY 2004, the author conducted a survey on the status of cultural activities in various areas in Japan in relation to urban renewal issues in local communities.　While rural depopulation has further progressed in the 13 years since the previous survey in FY 2004, local projects aimed at attracting tourists using cultural resources have been further promoted.　In institutional terms, the Theater Act aimed at promoting the formation of hubs for theatrical and artistic activities, such as theaters and music halls, was enacted in 2012.　Moreover, in the Basic Act for the Promotion of Culture and the Arts, revised in 2017, not only cultural promotion measures, but also measures in a wide range of related fields, including tourism, urban development, international exchange, welfare, education, and industry, were incorporated into a legal framework.

　This survey was conducted using the same method as in the FY 2004 survey to compare the status of cultural and artistic activities in Japan as much as possible with the FY 2004 survey results.　One of the reasons why cultural activities were downsized （JPY 14.74 million → 6.05 million） is considered to be the decrease in large-scale activities （costing JPY 10.00 million or more） （42% → 14%）.　As for the activities’ purposes, most are done to increase the local cultural level, while a few activities aim to facilitate tourism （47% vs. 5%）.　Regarding activity genres, nearly 90% of all activities are of music, dance, and traditional performing arts, with only a few activities in other genres.　The activities in each genre are held in public social-cultural facilities according to their genre, and no activities are held outside the facilities according to this survey, compared to the FY 2004 survey.　In the situation where cultural activities are required to increase income generated by the activities themselves, the subsidy ratio for activity costs excluding costs borne by activity organizers and admission fees is 47%, which is seemingly high.

　The majority of organizers of cultural activities are public interest corporations.　This situation shows a good tendency to revitalize creative activities in local areas, because resident-led groups and nonprofit organizations can conduct cultural activities on a more equal footing with administrative organs, compared to cases where cultural activities are organized directly by the local municipalities.

JEL Classifications:H54, R51, R53, Z11

　After earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruption may occur and production activities in disaster assumed areas may suffer economic damages.　We show how the regional economy revives after tsunami and volcanic eruption.　We propose a sequential dynamic model using an inter-regional input-output table.　We simulate the recovery processes in the disaster assumed areas in Hokkaido under several scenarios.

JEL Classifications:Q54, R15

　Coastal Bangladesh experiences severe drinking water scarcity due to saline intrusion by cyclones and cultivation of shrimps.　This study aimed to identify whether the socioeconomic conditions and other factors affect drinking water purification practices of the villagers in coastal areas of Bangladesh.　To achieve this objective, a field survey was conducted in a village of Munshiganj Union, Shyamnagar Upazila, Satkhila District, from August 3, 2017 to September 22, 2017.

　Using a t-test, it was revealed socioeconomic conditions （annual income and educational background of the household head） are not the essential factors determining drinking water purification practices of the villagers residing in the coastal areas.　Moreover, regarding pond sand filters constructed by development agencies, it was found that villagers’ perceptions of safe drinking water and the results of simple water quality tests were not in accordance with each other.　Conversely, villagers’ perceptions and actual water quality were in accordance with each other for other drinking water sources, such as rainwater and ponds.　This study proposed that villagers residing in salinity-prone coastal areas perceived drinking water to be safe on the basis of its color, taste, temperature, and purification systems installed on sites of drinking water resources.　Villagers residing in salinity-affected areas pay attention to water temperature, as they purify water by boiling it when they find it very cold to consume.　Moreover, villagers perceive their drinking water as safe if there is a purification system installed on site.　This means villagers may consider their drinking water to be safe, although the purification system may not be functional and water quality may not be fit for consumption.　This study thus concludes that it is important to maintain and monitor water quality at such purification systems-installed drinking water sources.　This study further contributes toward the development of rural Bangladesh and, in particular, toward the water purification practices and villagers’ perceptions of safe drinking water in salinity-affected areas.

JEL Classifications:I12, Q01

　To maintain a vibrant Japanese society, analysis of how to revitalize local areas is needed.　In modeling, individual residents’ feelings of well-being and the vitality of the concerned area, as well as the features of the residential area should be included as explanatory variables.　Many local governments try to improve local vitality and resident well-being.　However, no comprehensive analysis of factor structures of local vitality and well-being of residents has ever been done in Japan.　Therefore, we analyzed factor structures of local vitality and well-being of residents in each prefecture in Japan using a Bayesian network model.　Furthermore, we extracted effective variables for the improvement of the feeling of vitality and well-being by probabilistic reasoning.　In addition, we classified prefectures by the results of probabilistic reasoning, and compared the characteristic variables that affect vitality and well-being among six types.

JEL Classifications:C11, R11, O53

　The purpose of this paper is to analyze a foreign firm’s entry mode decisions by focusing on small-scale market overseas in a duopoly market.　In particular, the ways to procure relation-specific intermediates and level of the foreign direct investment prior to the customization for the inputs interact the market mechanism of industrial organization, which has a strategic impact on the entry mode decision of the firms.

　Unlike monopolistic competition models, vertical supply-chain transaction in a duopoly market and rival firm’s productivity strategically affect entry-mode decision of the final producer’s as well as the intermediate outputs of the supplier’s.　Therefore, the disparity of bargaining weight over the rents of the both side interacts the industrial organization through ex ante investment level of the final producer’s dependent on the market share.

　As a result of the analysis, decision-making of outsourcing inputs in a duopoly market is likely to occur when the final goods manufacturer with less productivity has lower bargaining weight than the supplier’s one over the total revenue.　On the other hand, the manufacturer with higher bargaining weight promotes a vertically integrated production in a monopoly market by increasing its level of ex ante investment in preparation for the hold-up problem of the intermediate.

JEL Classifications:D23, D43, F13, F23, L13, L24