We investigate financial product preferences of Japanese households by using choice experiments. ... more We investigate financial product preferences of Japanese households by using choice experiments. We examine the preference for the risk and return relationship as well as other influencing factors for investment decisions, such as the existence of principal guarantee and countries invested in. We also consider personal characteristics, such as age, gender, and stock investment experience. Japanese households have approximately 19 trillion USD financial assets which make up of approximately 20% of all assets in developed countries. However, they have the fewest equity related products. Investigating Japanese household financial product preference is important because their decisions potentially have a large impact on global equity markets. We find three main results. First, the relationship between risk and expected return is clearly an important factor for choosing financial products. Households also have a strong preference for the existence of principal guarantee and for domestic ...
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2021
This study aims to investigate the need to improve parking facilities at Japan's Izumo Airport. T... more This study aims to investigate the need to improve parking facilities at Japan's Izumo Airport. The occupancy of on-site parking lots was analyzed using one-day, weekend, and long-term parking metadata, and passengers passing through the security gate were surveyed on their satisfaction with airport parking. More than 4,000 passengers were recruited for the survey, of whom over 1,000 passengers who drove a car were asked about their satisfaction with the number and size of the parking lots available, the space for vehicle traffic, and the pedestrian walkway to the terminal. Additionally, they answered questions regarding necessary parking lot improvements and if it was better to expand the parking space or charge fees for it. The occupancy metadata analysis found that parking lots near the terminal buildings were almost full, whereas those farther away were comparatively unoccupied. The ordered logit estimation results for satisfaction showed that older respondents, those who parked far away from the terminal building, and those who took morning flights had significantly negative satisfaction levels. Similar estimation results for parking services improvement showed that users dissatisfied with the number of parking lots wanted improved parking services and preferred parking space expansion over a new fee. The combination study of metadata and satisfaction survey sheds new light on occupancy asymmetry, which contributes the most to the dissatisfaction over the number of parking lots. Therefore, smoothing occupancy and traffic trajectories between these areas is key to improving drivers' satisfaction.
We investigate consumers' reactions to information on rice types produced using a cultivation met... more We investigate consumers' reactions to information on rice types produced using a cultivation method that protects the crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), a symbol of the endangered birds of Japan. We employ a non-hypothetical choice experiment with real monetary incentives, in which participants taste three types of rice-Niigata rice, Sado rice, and Sado-Ibis certified rice (Ibis rice)-and choose one to take home. The participants make decisions twice in each choice set, once before and once after tasting. Three information treatments are used: information about taste ranking from chefs and consumers, cultivation method, and no-information. Comparing the expected and actual willingness to pay (WTP) for Ibis rice, only the cultivation method information increases the WTP, which triples. The WTP in the taste ranking information treatment becomes lower among the participants who refer to chefs, but there is no significant difference in preferences between the expected and actual stages among all participants. For Sado rice, the WTP increases when we provide no-information or information on the cultivation method. In both cases, the WTP changes from negative to positive relative to Niigata rice; however, this WTP is less than that for Ibis rice. These results imply that consumers are more sensitive to information of process and effort for a cultivation method that protects endangered species than to the information about taste ranking.
Synopsis: Objective. Our study analyzes investment behavior under the condition that information ... more Synopsis: Objective. Our study analyzes investment behavior under the condition that information such as CO 2 emissions is disclosed. To deal with such an issue, we adopt the method of economic experiments that human subjects are recruited and their economic behavior is examined under controlled laboratories. We construct the stock market model which is expanded from the preceding asset market model and into which information disclosure is incorporated. Results and Discussion. The two cases of experiments are prepared: one is that monetary rewards are paid to human subjects based on the normal methodology in economics experiments; the other is that the amount of CO 2 reductions is directly linked to the real world by purchasing carbon offset credits of which amount is proportional to the amount of CO 2 reduction in experiments. In the first experiments, stock price that the corresponding company reduces CO 2 emissions is increasing compared with normal stock price. On the other hand, there is no difference between two stock prices in the second experiments with carbon offset credits. Conclusions. Our experimental results imply that if investors are not monetarily incentivized for CO 2 reductions, it is difficult to reflect company's CSR activities in stock price. Therefore, it is concluded that in order to contribute to realizing sustainable society from financial industries, some appropriate social regime like carbon tax would be required.
IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2013
To examine whether the carbon footprint induce the sustainability local food production and servi... more To examine whether the carbon footprint induce the sustainability local food production and service system, this study investigate the relationship between consumers' environmental consciousness and willingness to pay for carbon dioxide emissions on food products by using a choice experiment under the real buying experiment. The results show that consumers with higher environmental consciousness value the higher WTP for the reduction of carbon dioxides.
IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2013
This study aims to theoretically analyze whether the information service provider improves the ma... more This study aims to theoretically analyze whether the information service provider improves the market efficiency. We construct a model where a good supplied by a producer has a risk to be harmful for a consumer because of an accident and it brings monetary losses to both consumers and producers. The accident risk is endogenously determined by the efforts of producers and consumers and the information of safety provided by the producers. The information service provider requires producers to provide information and certifies the credibility of information. In the equilibrium, if the entry cost for the information service provider is small, the optimal effort levels spent by the consumer and producer increase and the risk of accident decreases, which improves the market efficiency.
This study investigated lying behavior and the behavior of people who are deceived by using a dec... more This study investigated lying behavior and the behavior of people who are deceived by using a deception game (Gneezy, 2005) in both anonymity and face-to-face treatments. Subjects consist of students and non-students (citizens) to investigate whether lying behavior is depended on socioeconomic backgrounds. To explore how liars feel about lying, we give senders a chance to confess their behaviors to their counter partner for the guilty aversion of lying. The following results are obtained: i) a frequency of lying behavior for students is significantly higher than that for non-students at a payoff in the anonymity treatment, but that is not significantly difference between the anonymity and face-to-face treatments; ii) lying behavior is not influenced by gender; iii) a frequency of confession is higher in the face-to-face treatment than in the anonymity treatment; and iv) the receivers who are deceived are more likely to believe a sender's message to be true in the anonymity treatment. This study implies that the existence of the partner prompts liars to confess their behavior because they may feel remorse or guilt.
Our purpose of this study is evaluating preferences for air travel services connected between the... more Our purpose of this study is evaluating preferences for air travel services connected between the east and west central cities in Japan, Tokyo and Osaka, to consider the appropriate reallocation design of airports in Japan. We employ a choice experiment and recruit more than 500 respondents in east and west areas in Japan and investigate their preferences. Our results are as follows. The existing airline connected west hub airport, Itami, in Osaka and east hub airport, Haneda, in Tokyo is much preferred to the other lines connected cities surrounding Osaka and Tokyo. Kobe and Kansai international airports are preferable to Itami airport, while Haneda is the much preferable to Ibaraki and Narita international airports. Increasing the mileage program and the availability of web check-in have positive significant effects but these impacts are small. These results imply that the most important factor for using air travel services is convenience for traveling by using the nearest airports. In this meaning, if the new airlines can be connected to Haneda, the government's reallocation plan from Itami airport to Kobe and Kansai international airports has a chance to succeed to minimize the economic efficiency loss for the people traveling between east and west areas in Japan.
This study investigates “hypothetical bias,” defined as the difference in the willingness to pay ... more This study investigates “hypothetical bias,” defined as the difference in the willingness to pay for a product attribute between hypothetical and non-hypothetical conditions in a choice experiment, for the carbon footprint of mandarin oranges in Japan. We conducted the following four treatments: a non-hypothetical lab economic experiment, a hypothetical lab survey, a hypothetical online survey, and a hypothetical online survey with cheap-talk. Each treatment asked participants to choose one of three oranges based on price and carbon emissions level. Next, participants were asked to answer questions on demographics and the following three kinds of environmental factors: environmental consciousness, purchasing behavior for goods with eco-labels, and daily environmental behavior. Using the random parameter logit model, the willingness to pay per 1g of carbon emission reduction were 0.53 JPY, 0.52 JPY, 0.54 JPY, and 0.58 JPY in the non-hypothetical lab economic experiment, hypothetical ...
The present study has two purposes. First, we wish to test the descriptive power of the Nash equi... more The present study has two purposes. First, we wish to test the descriptive power of the Nash equilibrium solution in a traffic network game with a new population of participants and a different experimental procedure. Second, we wish to determine whether the effects of prior investment and personal responsibility, that may lead people to commit to a failing project, may be generalized from individual to interactive decision tasks. For these two purposes, we implement a computer-controlled traffic network game in which the addition of a cost-free line segment to the network may, in equilibrium, increase the travel cost of all the network users.
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2010
Both the presence/absence of food additives and provision of accurate information pertaining to t... more Both the presence/absence of food additives and provision of accurate information pertaining to the same are considered to be important factors affecting individuals' purchase decisions. In this paper, we apply the choice experiment approach under both real (the laboratory ...
This study investigates whether consumers select foods based on the levels of carbon dioxide emis... more This study investigates whether consumers select foods based on the levels of carbon dioxide emissions by a real choice experiment. Respondents are asked to purchase one orange based on price and level of CO 2 emissions under no monetary incentives. The willingness to pay estimate for the reduction of 1g of CO 2 emissions per orange is significantly lower for the low environmentally conscious group than it is for the high environmentally conscious group.
We investigate financial product preferences of Japanese households by using choice experiments. ... more We investigate financial product preferences of Japanese households by using choice experiments. We examine the preference for the risk and return relationship as well as other influencing factors for investment decisions, such as the existence of principal guarantee and countries invested in. We also consider personal characteristics, such as age, gender, and stock investment experience. Japanese households have approximately 19 trillion USD financial assets which make up of approximately 20% of all assets in developed countries. However, they have the fewest equity related products. Investigating Japanese household financial product preference is important because their decisions potentially have a large impact on global equity markets. We find three main results. First, the relationship between risk and expected return is clearly an important factor for choosing financial products. Households also have a strong preference for the existence of principal guarantee and for domestic ...
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2021
This study aims to investigate the need to improve parking facilities at Japan's Izumo Airport. T... more This study aims to investigate the need to improve parking facilities at Japan's Izumo Airport. The occupancy of on-site parking lots was analyzed using one-day, weekend, and long-term parking metadata, and passengers passing through the security gate were surveyed on their satisfaction with airport parking. More than 4,000 passengers were recruited for the survey, of whom over 1,000 passengers who drove a car were asked about their satisfaction with the number and size of the parking lots available, the space for vehicle traffic, and the pedestrian walkway to the terminal. Additionally, they answered questions regarding necessary parking lot improvements and if it was better to expand the parking space or charge fees for it. The occupancy metadata analysis found that parking lots near the terminal buildings were almost full, whereas those farther away were comparatively unoccupied. The ordered logit estimation results for satisfaction showed that older respondents, those who parked far away from the terminal building, and those who took morning flights had significantly negative satisfaction levels. Similar estimation results for parking services improvement showed that users dissatisfied with the number of parking lots wanted improved parking services and preferred parking space expansion over a new fee. The combination study of metadata and satisfaction survey sheds new light on occupancy asymmetry, which contributes the most to the dissatisfaction over the number of parking lots. Therefore, smoothing occupancy and traffic trajectories between these areas is key to improving drivers' satisfaction.
We investigate consumers' reactions to information on rice types produced using a cultivation met... more We investigate consumers' reactions to information on rice types produced using a cultivation method that protects the crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), a symbol of the endangered birds of Japan. We employ a non-hypothetical choice experiment with real monetary incentives, in which participants taste three types of rice-Niigata rice, Sado rice, and Sado-Ibis certified rice (Ibis rice)-and choose one to take home. The participants make decisions twice in each choice set, once before and once after tasting. Three information treatments are used: information about taste ranking from chefs and consumers, cultivation method, and no-information. Comparing the expected and actual willingness to pay (WTP) for Ibis rice, only the cultivation method information increases the WTP, which triples. The WTP in the taste ranking information treatment becomes lower among the participants who refer to chefs, but there is no significant difference in preferences between the expected and actual stages among all participants. For Sado rice, the WTP increases when we provide no-information or information on the cultivation method. In both cases, the WTP changes from negative to positive relative to Niigata rice; however, this WTP is less than that for Ibis rice. These results imply that consumers are more sensitive to information of process and effort for a cultivation method that protects endangered species than to the information about taste ranking.
Synopsis: Objective. Our study analyzes investment behavior under the condition that information ... more Synopsis: Objective. Our study analyzes investment behavior under the condition that information such as CO 2 emissions is disclosed. To deal with such an issue, we adopt the method of economic experiments that human subjects are recruited and their economic behavior is examined under controlled laboratories. We construct the stock market model which is expanded from the preceding asset market model and into which information disclosure is incorporated. Results and Discussion. The two cases of experiments are prepared: one is that monetary rewards are paid to human subjects based on the normal methodology in economics experiments; the other is that the amount of CO 2 reductions is directly linked to the real world by purchasing carbon offset credits of which amount is proportional to the amount of CO 2 reduction in experiments. In the first experiments, stock price that the corresponding company reduces CO 2 emissions is increasing compared with normal stock price. On the other hand, there is no difference between two stock prices in the second experiments with carbon offset credits. Conclusions. Our experimental results imply that if investors are not monetarily incentivized for CO 2 reductions, it is difficult to reflect company's CSR activities in stock price. Therefore, it is concluded that in order to contribute to realizing sustainable society from financial industries, some appropriate social regime like carbon tax would be required.
IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2013
To examine whether the carbon footprint induce the sustainability local food production and servi... more To examine whether the carbon footprint induce the sustainability local food production and service system, this study investigate the relationship between consumers' environmental consciousness and willingness to pay for carbon dioxide emissions on food products by using a choice experiment under the real buying experiment. The results show that consumers with higher environmental consciousness value the higher WTP for the reduction of carbon dioxides.
IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2013
This study aims to theoretically analyze whether the information service provider improves the ma... more This study aims to theoretically analyze whether the information service provider improves the market efficiency. We construct a model where a good supplied by a producer has a risk to be harmful for a consumer because of an accident and it brings monetary losses to both consumers and producers. The accident risk is endogenously determined by the efforts of producers and consumers and the information of safety provided by the producers. The information service provider requires producers to provide information and certifies the credibility of information. In the equilibrium, if the entry cost for the information service provider is small, the optimal effort levels spent by the consumer and producer increase and the risk of accident decreases, which improves the market efficiency.
This study investigated lying behavior and the behavior of people who are deceived by using a dec... more This study investigated lying behavior and the behavior of people who are deceived by using a deception game (Gneezy, 2005) in both anonymity and face-to-face treatments. Subjects consist of students and non-students (citizens) to investigate whether lying behavior is depended on socioeconomic backgrounds. To explore how liars feel about lying, we give senders a chance to confess their behaviors to their counter partner for the guilty aversion of lying. The following results are obtained: i) a frequency of lying behavior for students is significantly higher than that for non-students at a payoff in the anonymity treatment, but that is not significantly difference between the anonymity and face-to-face treatments; ii) lying behavior is not influenced by gender; iii) a frequency of confession is higher in the face-to-face treatment than in the anonymity treatment; and iv) the receivers who are deceived are more likely to believe a sender's message to be true in the anonymity treatment. This study implies that the existence of the partner prompts liars to confess their behavior because they may feel remorse or guilt.
Our purpose of this study is evaluating preferences for air travel services connected between the... more Our purpose of this study is evaluating preferences for air travel services connected between the east and west central cities in Japan, Tokyo and Osaka, to consider the appropriate reallocation design of airports in Japan. We employ a choice experiment and recruit more than 500 respondents in east and west areas in Japan and investigate their preferences. Our results are as follows. The existing airline connected west hub airport, Itami, in Osaka and east hub airport, Haneda, in Tokyo is much preferred to the other lines connected cities surrounding Osaka and Tokyo. Kobe and Kansai international airports are preferable to Itami airport, while Haneda is the much preferable to Ibaraki and Narita international airports. Increasing the mileage program and the availability of web check-in have positive significant effects but these impacts are small. These results imply that the most important factor for using air travel services is convenience for traveling by using the nearest airports. In this meaning, if the new airlines can be connected to Haneda, the government's reallocation plan from Itami airport to Kobe and Kansai international airports has a chance to succeed to minimize the economic efficiency loss for the people traveling between east and west areas in Japan.
This study investigates “hypothetical bias,” defined as the difference in the willingness to pay ... more This study investigates “hypothetical bias,” defined as the difference in the willingness to pay for a product attribute between hypothetical and non-hypothetical conditions in a choice experiment, for the carbon footprint of mandarin oranges in Japan. We conducted the following four treatments: a non-hypothetical lab economic experiment, a hypothetical lab survey, a hypothetical online survey, and a hypothetical online survey with cheap-talk. Each treatment asked participants to choose one of three oranges based on price and carbon emissions level. Next, participants were asked to answer questions on demographics and the following three kinds of environmental factors: environmental consciousness, purchasing behavior for goods with eco-labels, and daily environmental behavior. Using the random parameter logit model, the willingness to pay per 1g of carbon emission reduction were 0.53 JPY, 0.52 JPY, 0.54 JPY, and 0.58 JPY in the non-hypothetical lab economic experiment, hypothetical ...
The present study has two purposes. First, we wish to test the descriptive power of the Nash equi... more The present study has two purposes. First, we wish to test the descriptive power of the Nash equilibrium solution in a traffic network game with a new population of participants and a different experimental procedure. Second, we wish to determine whether the effects of prior investment and personal responsibility, that may lead people to commit to a failing project, may be generalized from individual to interactive decision tasks. For these two purposes, we implement a computer-controlled traffic network game in which the addition of a cost-free line segment to the network may, in equilibrium, increase the travel cost of all the network users.
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2010
Both the presence/absence of food additives and provision of accurate information pertaining to t... more Both the presence/absence of food additives and provision of accurate information pertaining to the same are considered to be important factors affecting individuals' purchase decisions. In this paper, we apply the choice experiment approach under both real (the laboratory ...
This study investigates whether consumers select foods based on the levels of carbon dioxide emis... more This study investigates whether consumers select foods based on the levels of carbon dioxide emissions by a real choice experiment. Respondents are asked to purchase one orange based on price and level of CO 2 emissions under no monetary incentives. The willingness to pay estimate for the reduction of 1g of CO 2 emissions per orange is significantly lower for the low environmentally conscious group than it is for the high environmentally conscious group.
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Papers by Keiko Aoki