This paper chiefly uses microdata for 2000 and 2015 from the agricultural census to investigate structural changes particularly among beef cattle breeders in South Korean livestock farming since South Korea proactively entered into free trade agreements in the 2000s.　Our analysis uncovered the following points.

　First, the rankings of beef cattle breeders by the scale of 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 raised 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 cattle being bred.

　Second, many farmers raising small herds of beef cattle on the side, while cultivating rice, have exited the beef cattle business.　Numerous small-scale operations consisted of farmers 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 approximately 180,000, while small-scale cattle breeders raising cattle in addition to a main business of rice cultivation declined by approximately 160,000.

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

　Between 2000 and 2015, the number of South Korean farmers engaged in cattle-raising operations, particularly with small herds with rice cultivation as a main business, dropped precipitously.　The ratio of beef cattle produced on a small scale dropped as well.　At the same time, the percentage of large-scale 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.　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 earth-quake conversions of rental housing and we 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 earth-quake 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.

　We apply these methods to rental apartment buildings in the Tokyo Metropolitan area and Miyagi Prefecture, and we found that people are willing to 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 the rental firms, and that there is necessity for subsidies to make rental houses more earthquake-proof in Japan.

JEL Classifications:R38, D12, H29

　The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the rescindment of the Factory Location Act on productivity in Japan.Empirical results show that Total Factor Productivity （TFP） increased in the restricted areas（Tokyo, Osaka and neighboring areas） 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 these areas, which may lead to revitalize the entire economy.

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

　Of the public facilities owned by basic municipalities, the facilities of elementary and junior high schools account for more than 40% of the floor area.However, school facilities also function for out-of-purpose uses such as disaster prevention in a region.

　Out-of-purpose uses of school facilities include social education, sports promotion, elections, disasters and emergencies.Many of these functions are selective or optional utilization of school facilities by local residents and others.

　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 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 of multipurpose uses.However, in either case, several problems arise because distance and accessibility to school facilities are subject to evaluation.For one thing, preference for school facilities as school facilities is also evaluated, so it can be difficult to screen from non-purpose uses.For example, differences in land prices by school districts may represent preferences for school academics and quality of households rather than preference for non-purpose use.Also, school districts of elementary and junior high schools are generally within walking distance, so differences in access time and distance for travel expenses for non-purpose use rarely differ.

　As described above, a method that can comprehensively evaluate, and distinguish from other use purposes （school education） of school facilities is needed for evaluation of non-purpose uses.Therefore, a discrete choice method that can describe multiple elements making up the utility function and can estimate the evaluation from the relationships between utility and selection is suitable.

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

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

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

JEL Classifications:D61, H83, R53

　The purpose of this research is to clarify the relationships between multi-functionality of urban agriculture （MFUA） as city amenities and creative classes （CCs） for Tokyo and Shanghai, the 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 relationships with social capital, and how they engage in social business.　

　The following results were 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 businesses （Hypothesis 3）. Based on the analytical results, we draw the implication that urban policies should facilitate CCs （both creative occupation and creative thinking） to actively participate in social businesses by making full use of the multi-functionality of agriculture to solve 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 of Japan related to urban renewal issues in local communities.　While rural depopulation has further progressed in the 13 years since this survey, local projects aimed at attracting tourists using cultural resources are promoted.　In institutional terms, the Theater Act that aimed to promote 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 the legal framework.

　This survey was conducted using the same method as in the FY 2004 survey to better compare the status of cultural and artistic activities in Japan with the FY 2004 survey results.　One reason for the downsizing of cultural activities （JPY 14.74 million → 6.05 million） was to decrease large-scale activities （costing JPY 10.00 million or more） （42% → 14%）.　Most activities were done to increase the local cultural level, while a few activities aimed to facilitate tourism （47% vs. 5%）.　Regarding activity genres, nearly 90% of all activities were music, dance, and traditional performing arts, with only a few activities in other genres.　Activities in each genre were held in public social-cultural facilities according to their genre, and no activities were held outside the facilities according to this survey, compared to the FY 2004 survey.　When cultural activities required an increase in income generated by the activities themselves, the subsidy ratio for activity costs excluding costs borne by the activity organizers and admission fees was 47%, this is seemingly high.

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

JEL Classifications:H54, R51, R53, Z11

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

JEL Classifications:Q54, R15

　This study focused on problems of salinity in coastal Bangladesh to identify whether the socioeconomic conditions of households and other factors affect drinking water purification practices.　To achieve this objective, a field survey was conducted in a village of Shyamnagar Upazila.　Using a t-test, it was revealed that socioeconomic conditions （annual income and educational background of the household head） are not essential factors determining drinking water purification practices of the village.　Moreover, regarding pond sand filters constructed by development agencies, the study found villager recognition of safe drinking water and simple water quality tests do not agree.　This study showed that villagers residing in salinity-prone areas perceived drinking water to be safe on the basis of color, taste, temperature, and purification systems installed on sites of drinking water resources.　This means that villagers consider their drinking water to be safe, even though the purification system may not be functional and water quality may not be fit for consumption.　This study concludes that it is important to maintain and monitor water quality at such purification systems-installed drinking water sources.

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 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 of Japan using a Bayesian network model.　Furthermore, we extracted effective variables for improvement of feelings 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 economies overseas.　In particular, this article discusses the possibility that ways to procure relation-specific intermediates and level of the foreign direct investments prior to customization for the inputs interact with the market mechanisms of industrial organizations, which has a strategic impact on the entry mode decisions of a firm.

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