Malawi is a landlocked, densely populated, low-income country with a per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$388.5 in 2017. The economy is agro-based, with many small scale farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture. The government introduced an Integrated Rural Development (IRD) strategy into the national agenda in 2006 to address rural poverty levels. However, the effectiveness of IRD programmes on Malawi’s economy remains unclear. This paper analyzes ripple effects on the assumption that the export of each commodity rises. We examine the Extended Multisectoral Model, based on Malawi’s 2014 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), and income inequality within-group and between-group of urban and rural households using Theil’s T Index to assess the programs’ impacts on output, final demand, disposable income, poverty levels, and consumption. The findings indicate that products from the agricultural sector have high economic ripple effects without expanding income inequality.

JEL Classifications:R13, F17, C68

　　According to the Cabinet Office （2015）, the number of social enterprises in Japan is 205,000, the added value is 16.0 trillion yen （3.3% of the total economy）, and the number of paid employees is 5,776,000 （13.2%）.　Generally, social enterprises face a trade-off between economic efficiency and sociality, a so called “duality” or “dual mission” problem.　One of the management strategies to solve duality problems is considered to enlarge the effectiveness of a business, while complementing management resources through the formation of cooperative networks with external organizations.　

　　The purpose of this study was to clarify the formation factors and effects of inter-organization networks of social enterprises by analyzing two regions in Japan under the early diffusion phase of social enterprises.　First, the analytical framework and hypotheses were set based on a selective literature review of existing studies on social enterprise theory and organizational network theory.　Second, the structural equation modeling （SEM） was applied to the piece vote data at the organizational level in two prefectures of the “Social Business Network Survey （2010 METI Regional Revitalization Countermeasure Survey）”.　Third, case studies were applied for the advanced intermediate organizations in the two prefectures to verify the hypotheses.

　　Based on the analytical results, the following three hypotheses are verified: the organizational attributes and business areas of social enterprises influence the formation of inter-organizational networks （hypothesis 1）, diversity and collaborative network formation promotes empathize with related entities and cooperation with social enterprises （hypothesis 2）, and intermediate organizations affect the structure and function of network and promote the induction of social innovation （hypothesis 3）.　In other words, the formation of inter-organizational networks of social enterprises promotes the induction of social innovation through changes in the collective cognition of the region.　Therefore, policy implications drawn from this research appear to enhance the diversity and collaboration of social enterprise networks to promote sustainable regional development through the resolution of regional social issues.

JEL Classifications: L30, Z13

　　The spread of COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the Japanese economy.　The Cabinet Office’s Business Trends Index （CI） has declined significantly since March 2020, close to the level in March 2009.　In addition, since the number of infected people in each prefecture varies greatly, and the degree of restrictions on economic activities, such as the declaration of a state of emergency being issued and lifted accordingly, the impact of the spread of infection on the economy varies depending on the region and prefecture.

　　Previous studies on Covid-19’s impact on economic trends do not capture the overall economic situation and have not been compared and verified at the prefectural level.　On the other hand, understanding the economic impact of various factors in the region, including the spread of coronavirus infections, is essential for examining measures that contribute to economic recovery, and the significance of quantitative analysis of the degree of economic fluctuations and their factors is significant.

　　In this study, we analyzed the impact of the spread of COVID-19 on the local economy, regional differences, and their factors using “prefectural CI” developed by Matsushima and Mitsui.　In addition, to more accurately capture the effects of the spread of coronal infection, we also improved the prefectural CI.　The prefectural CI is an index that can compare economic trends among all prefectures.　It covers the main fields for analyzing economic trends while using indicators common to prefectures, and aims to grasp regional economic trends more accurately than current indicators.

JEL Classifications:E32, R11, R15

　　In this study, we proposed a method for estimating the amount of disaster waste generated by　applying a method for predicting future changes in building stock in the field of construction to the field of disaster waste, for which future estimates have not yet been made, and estimated the amount of disaster waste generated after creating the basic unit based on the method.　The amounts of disaster waste generated were based on this method.　In addition, we used general statistical data, such as a summary report of the price of fixed assets.　This study provides basic knowledge for future estimations to support the local governments that are facing problems of insufficient personnel and knowledge.

　　The coefficients of determination prepared for the future estimation of total floor space showed high values in most of the municipalities, and a correlation was generally confirmed.　In addition, most of the municipalities showed an increasing trend in unit requirements for the future.　In addition, the estimated amount of existing building stock may continue to decrease in the future under all population scenarios.　The amount of disaster waste generated was larger in the scenario with a smaller population decrease, and the rate of change in the amount of disaster waste generated was larger in the scenario with a larger population decrease.　The municipalities in the target area where the rate of change in the amount of disaster waste generated was larger were located near the central area.　Therefore, when considering the management of disaster waste in rural prefectures such as Wakayama Prefecture, it is necessary to pay special attention to the municipalities around the prefectural capitals where the population is concentrated.

　　In recent years, various issues have been discussed regarding the processes of recovery in disaster-affected areas around the world.　One of the issues is differences in the level of recovery within disaster-stricken areas, a problem that also persists in Aceh, Indonesia following the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami.　This study aimed to show the value of utilizing the Capability approach to analyze and verify the cause of delays in recovery.　The study is based on individual cases focusing on the well-being of the people from the point of view of justice.　This study builds on the findings of surveys conducted in Banda Aceh, the capital city of Aceh, and in the Aceh Jaya Region located in the remote coastal areas, where rebuilding has been delayed.　In Glee-Putoh of Lamno Village in Aceh Jaya, further qualitative research was conducted in this small community by focusing on the lives of people during the recovery process from the perspectives of individuals.　

　　The study highlighted the difficulties in the people’s recovery due to the lack of support from the government to rebuild their livelihood after the area was significantly damaged by a disaster.　When the recovery of the people’s lives is delayed, the study found that the capability that consists of so called “functionings” of political and material freedom and choices were particularly lacking.　These functionings are essential elements for making people’s lives truly human.　In order for the people to be able to rebuild their lives that they desire in a proactive way, it is important for the people to not be left behind in the rebuilding process by cooperation with other stake holders, while exercising their own practical reason and public interactions with the government, municipalities and experts.

JEL Classifications:I31, P46, R28

　　Decentralization is being promoted in Japan in addition to role sharing between the national and local governments, so resident autonomy is becoming more important.　The 27th local government system research council has proposed an epoch-making perspective in which local governments are not the only providers of administrative services in the region.　The council has advocated a new type of resident autonomy that is conducted in collaboration with local governments and neighborhood residents’ associations.　Local organizations such as neighborhood residents’ associations have always played an important role in the activities of local communities. However, in recent years, council-type resident organizations have been introduced in several areas to solve emerging regional issues.　Consequently, neighborhood residents’ associations and council-type resident organizations are currently mixed, and their roles are unclear.

　　The purpose of this study is to consider the issues of council-type resident organizations, focusing on the management of the local organization after the introduction of a new council-type resident organization.　To achieve this goal, we conducted interviews and a questionnaire survey of municipalities in Aichi Prefecture.

　　Results showed the following three issues:（1） residents do not understand the purpose of the council-type resident organization;（2） officers of the council-type resident organization also serve as officers of other residents’ organizations, the burden is heavy;and （3） there is a lack of independence to solve local issues.

JEL Classifications:L30, L38

　　Within “the proposal on promotion measures for the industrial waste treatment industry”, positioning of industrial waste treatment industries as an infrastructure is heavier year by year. Therefore, the industrial waste treatment industry is expected to attempt continuous development in the region.

　　On the other hand, there are not many detailed reports on the current status of the acceptance of general waste and disaster waste in industrial waste treatment facilities.　Therefore, we surveyed industrial waste disposers who possess incineration facilities and use the main intermediate treatment methods for industrial waste treatment.

　　A web-based questionnaire using Google Forms was administered to 176 industrial waste disposal companies that have received the approval of good waste treatment providers and possess incineration facilities.　Responses were obtained from 31 companies, 15 operators of disaster waste treatment and 10 operators that accept general waste.

　　The processing capacity of the facilities held by the practicing companies ranged from less than 50 t/d to more than 500 t/d, suggesting their roles as local environmental infrastructure regardless of treatment capacity.

　　Even if it is assumed that the total amount accepted is treated in the intermediate stage, the amount of disaster waste that can be treated in less than 20 days is taken from the treatment capacity of the facilities held by the operators.　Therefore, environmental infrastructures are expected to be used in the future to respond to disasters.

JEL Classifications:Q29, Q53

　　Japan is a developed country dedicated to complying with agreements for mitigating hazardous gases causing global warming. However, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (hereinafter referred to as the natural disaster) that occurred in March 2011 created a situation that the country had to amend the environmental policy related to climate change. This study employed the synthetic control method (SCM) to estimate the impact of a natural disaster on carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The outcome variable is CO₂ emissions from electricity generation index (2000=100) and the intervention window is 1995-2020 (pre-intervention:1995-2010 and post-intervention:2011-2020). Analyses of 34 countries in OECD and UNFCCC and placebo studies were performed using leave-one-out tests, and post- to pre-mean squared prediction error (MSPE) ratios to evaluate the statistical inferences. The results indicated a meaningful relationship between the natural disaster and an increase in CO₂ emissions. Unlike the situation of countries in the control group, Japan showed a significant increase in CO₂ emissions after the natural disaster.

JEL Classifications:J31, Q54

　　Currently, the population structure is changing due to a declining population and aging population in Japan.　Therefore, local governments are making plans for the maintenance and renewal of their public facilities.　In the plans, various attempts are being made to prioritize which facilities should be renewed, and which facilities should be consolidated or abolished without renewal.

　　Under these circumstances, we evaluated and prioritized public facilities by considering the usage status, user attributes, facility attributes, etc. for each facility, and also considered the benefits these public facilities provide.

　　Therefore, this section presents a method for estimating parameters related to facility selection so that the benefits of the public facilities can be determined.　Samples with different attributes were divided into several categories, and parameters estimated together with the facility attributes.　 In the future, we will show that local governments nationwide can estimate the selection behaviors required for facility management from simple usage surveys and facility information owned by the local governments.

　　We have shown new possibilities for public facility management methods that utilize latent class analysis.　Dfficulties of the public facility problems are prioritizing which facilities to start with due to financial constraints.　Various proposals have been made for this problem, but subpopulations are estimated from user attributes by latent class analysis, and each group is used in combination with facility attributes.　By analyzing the choice behavior of the people, it is possible the people’s will can be determined more accurately.

　　In this paper, the estimations were made based on the data of 3 local governments for which detailed data on facility attributes are available.　All three cities were characteristic castle towns, so the selection behavior of owned facilities and residents maybe biased compared to other general local governments.　Issues of external validity have also risen as a result, so we anticipate many local governments will disclose facility information in the future, and we can then also include these issues in the analyses.

JEL Classifications:D61, H83, R53