Note: Please kindly contact me through the email addresses below. I have migrated to non-academic arena since August 2025 and stepped down from the academic front. However, I would continue the work on model extensions and other applied work as in the past as a clinical.
update: I joined The AEA Annual Meeting 2026 held in Philly, USA. (LINK)
Taka, YAMADA, Ph.D.: vitae
Welcome to my homepage! My professional interests lie in unraveling the effects and mechanisms of various problems associated with economic development and providing prescriptions for these problems. Also, I have extended analytical tools or identification strategies, namely, (i) the three stages of estimation framework comprising an instrumental variable for causal identification and the unique counterfactual simulations based on a conventional static two-way fixed effects and (ii) the mode-based income deposition into growth and distribution effects for segments of poor. The publication record is as such the Journal of Development Economics, Oxford Encyclopedia of Environment Science, Economics Bulletin, Journal of Income Distribution, and Sustainable Development. The referee service includes World Development**, Journal of Development Economics*, Economics Bulletin***, Progress in Development Studies**, Journal of Economics Structures*, and GeoJournal*.
I am currently in a preparation for the entrepreneurship engagement and was recently assumed to the managing director at DalbergInc in Japan. I have around 15 years of practical professional experience in the economic development arena across Asia and the Pacific, South Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean. In practice, I have engaged in economic analysis and policy dialogue with client authorities in Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, El Salvador, and Honduras, and worked with the World Bank the IMF, the private sector, and civil societies for the coordinated policy formulation. I also have diverse exposures, working as an economist/consultant for the World Bank, Japanese MoF, JICA, ILO, UNDP, and a SMEs agency project. I received a doctoral degree from Nagoya University, Japan (2010-2017, excluding about 3.5 years of leave for practical work), and the post-graduate diploma in geographical science from Pennsylvania State University.
contact: taka.yamada@dalberginc.com (office email address)
Article about the three stages of estimation framework comprising an instrumental variable for causal identification and the unique counterfactual simulations based on a conventional static two-way fixed effects (to be updated to the latest version) will be presented at The AEA Annual Meeting 2026 in Philadelphia, USA.
Yamada, T., & Otchia, C. S. (2025). Industrial Development, Poverty Reduction, and Inequality: A Robustness Test Using Nighttime Lights in Vietnam. Sustainable Development.
Note: In the course of writing and publication the unethcal academic and human behaviors of co-author have occured. They have been reported and accepted by the editor of the Journal and Otchia's affiliation, Nagoya University.
麦の唄，RIETI Special Report, 2025. 4.1.
(in english) Yamada, T. 2025. A song of barley. RIETI Special Report, April 1st, 2025.
The mode-based decomposition into the growth and distribution effects for segments of poor. Journal of Income Distribution. (accepted version)
所得の概念, RIETI Column, 2024.8.15.
(in english) Yamada, T. 2024. Concepts of income. RIETI Column, September 15th 2024.
津波と避難, RIETI Column, 2024. 7. 26.
(in english) Yamada, T. 2024. Tsunami and evacuation. RIETI Column, July 26th 2024.
大震災からの復興－壊滅から「創造的破壊へ」，RIETI Column，2024. 1. 15.
(in english) Yamada, T. 2024. Recovery from earthquake disasters - Turning devastation into creative destruction. RIETI Column, January 15th.
cognition and evacuation from the disasters
Animation and visualization links -
Yamada, T. (December 9, 2021). The frequencies of earthquakes in japan - 110 years of evidence from january 1911 to march 2021 (animation) [video clip]
Yamada, T. (December 9, 2021). The aggregate number of earthquakes in japan - 110 years of evidence from january 1911 to march 2021 (5 classes, hexbins).
The causal effects of long-term PM 2.5 exposure on COVID 19 in India
Yamada, T. et al. 2020. The causal effects of long-term PM 2.5 exposure on COVID 19 in India, November 26, 2020.
Relevant article - Is exposure to air pollution a risk factor for covid 19 fatality rate? Evidence from India as of May 15, 2020 (May 31, 2020).
[Media coverage - World Bank blog, Duke university, The thrid pole]
genocide in the kiling field (2021-)
pollution (2020-)
convergence (2018-)
conflicts and wars (2017-)
Yamada, T., & Otchia, C. S. (2025). Industrial Development, Poverty Reduction, and Inequality: A Robustness Test Using Nighttime Lights in Vietnam. Sustainable Development.
Note: In the course of writing and publication the unethcal academic and human behaviors of co-author have occured. They have been reported and accepted by the editor of the Journal and Otchia's affiliation, Nagoya University.
The mode-based decomposition into the growth and distribution effects for segments of poor. Journal of Income Distribution. (accepted version)
The long-term causal effect of American bombing missions on economic development: Evidence from Ho Chi Minh Trail and Xieng Khouang province in Lao P.D.R. (accepted version)
Yamada, T. 2021. The long-term causal effect of U.S. bombing missions on economic development: Evidence from Ho Chi Minh Trail and Xieng Khouang province in Lao P.D.R. Journal of Development Economics, vol 150, May 2021, 102611.
Animation Link - Yamada, T. (December 8 2021). Lao targeted kinetic bombing missions during the Vietnam War [video clip]
Yamada, T. 2018. Dynamics of spatial inequality and poverty - Evidence from two decades of surveys in Vietnam, 1993-2014. Economics Bulletin, vol 38, Issue 1, pp. 404 - 418.
The turning point in the Vietnamese economy - Revisiting labor surplus theory
Yamada, T. 2016. The turning point in the vietnamese economy - Revisiting labor surplus theory. Forum of International Development Studies, vol 47, Issue 5, pp. 1 - 15, September.
Exploring air pollution and covid 19 linkages in South Asia
Mani , M. and Yamada, T. 2021. Exploring air pollution and covid 19 linkages in South Asia in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. Oxford University Press
Measurements of absolute inequality
Yamada, T. 2021. Measurements of absolute inequality in Reduced Inequalities, Encyclopedia of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Chams
山田昂弘 夜間光ラスターデータを用いた都道府県別夜間照度の要約統計量 『経済と政策分析のための GIS 入門 2 - 空間統計ツールと応用 ArcGIS pro 対応』 古今書院, 第 12 章, 2018. 4.
(in english) Yamada, T. Summary statistics of illumination intensity using nightlights - A case of 47 prefectures in Japan. Chapter 12, in Kawabata eds. Introduction to GIS for economic and policy analysis 2 - Spatial statistics tools and applications learning with ArcGIS pro. Kokon shoin, April 2018.
山田昂弘 Landsat8 ラスターデータを用いた植生活性度の視覚化 - ルワンダ近辺の事例,『経済・政策分析のための GIS 入門 2 - 空間統計ツールと応用 ArcGIS pro対応』古今書院, 第 13 章, 2018. 4.
(in english) Yamada, T. Vegetation activity using Landsat 8 - A case of rwanda vicinage. Chapter 13, in Kawabata. eds. Introduction to GIS for policy - Spatial statistics tools and applications learning with ArcGIS pro. Kokon shoin, April 2018
麦の唄，RIETI Special Report, 2025. 4.1.
(in english) Yamada, T. 2025. A song of barley. RIETI Special Report, April 1st, 2025.
所得の概念, RIETI Column, 2024. 8.15.
(in english) Yamada, T. 2024 Concepts of income. RIETI Column, September 15th, 2024.
津波と避難, RIETI Column, 2024.7.26.
(in english) Yamada, T. 2024 Tsunami and evacuation. RIETI Column, July 26th 2024.
大震災からの復興－壊滅から「創造的破壊へ」，RIETI Column，2024. 1. 15.
(in english) Yamada, T. 2024 Recovery from earthquake disasters: Turning devastation into creative destruction. RIETI Column, January 15th, 2014.
山田昂弘 「開発についての諸考察 - 宇宙から地球を見る」，『ファイナンス』，vol 55，no .9，財務省，pp. 60 - 67，2019. 12．
(in english) Yamada, T. Discussions on development - Seeing the earth from outer space. The Finance vol 55, no. 9, pp .60 - 67, Ministry of Finance Japan, December 2019
開発についての諸考察 - IMF及び世界銀行による低所得国向け債務持続性分析
山田昂弘 「開発についての諸考察 - IMF及び世界銀行による低所得国向け債務持続性分析」，『ファイナンス』，vol 54, no. 11, 財務省，pp. 50 - 55，2019. 2．
(in english) Yamada, T. Discussions on development - IMF World Bank LIC (low income countries) DSA (debt sustainabiity analysis). The Finance, vol 54 no. 11 pp. 50 - 55, Ministry of Finance Japan, January 2019
山田昂弘 「開発についての諸考察 - 導入」，『ファイナンス』，vol 54, no. 9, 財務省, pp. 52 - 55, 2018. 12
(in english) Yamada, T. Discussions on development - Introduction. The Finance, vol 54, no. 9, pp. 52 - 55, Ministry of Finance Japan, December
Is air pollution aggravating covid 19 in south asia?
Mani and Yamada, T. 2020. Is air pollution aggravating covid 19 in south asia? End Poverty in South Asia, World Bank Blogs, The World Bank, june 23, 2020
Beyer, R. and Yamada, T. 2021. District level convergence and public banks in India. an extended paper for the flagship report for South Asia, august 13, 2020.
Policy options for South Asian countries during the crisis of covid 19
Yamada, T. Policy options for South Asian countries during the crisis of covid 19. a background paper for the flagship report for South Asia, March 2020.
土地利用からの土地所有権の切り離し - メキシコにおける保証と移住
山田昂弘 土地利用からの土地所有権の切り離し - メキシコにおける保証と移住, 『季刊住宅土地経済』, 第 110 号, pp. 36 - 39, 2018. 10.
本誌の著作権は日本住宅総合センター（公財）に帰属する（詳細については同センターに照会されたい）
(in english) Yamada, T. 2018 Article review, Kikan Jutaku Tochi Keizai, 110, 36-39, October, 'de Janvry et al. delinking land rights from land use: certification and migration in mexico published to American Economic Review, 2015, vol 105, issue 10, 3125 - 3149'.
Principle investigator:
災害後の復興，東京大学空間情報科学研究センター（CSIS）共同研究研究費 (FY2025 - 2026)
(in english) The post disaster recoveries and reconstructions (FY2025 - 2026) (selected grants for spatial analyses by Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo) (JPY 450,000)
災害後の復興，東京大学空間情報科学研究センター（CSIS）共同研究研究費 (FY2024 - 2025)
(in english) The post disaster recoveries and reconstructions (FY2024-2025) (selected grants for spatial analyses by Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo) (JPY 350,000)
KAKENHI: 津波が被災地域の経済成長，所得分配，生活水準の動態に与える影響の分析 (2019 - 2020)
(in english) The effect of tsunami on the economic growth, income distribution and living standards of the affected areas - a chronological investigation (2019-2020) (KAKENHI Grant for a young scientists) (JPY 3,250,000)
World Development**, Journal of Development Economics*, Economics Bulletin***, Progress in Development Studies**, Journal of Economics Structures*, GeoJournal*
Awards
Excellent Paper Award, Days 2021, Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo
Last update in January 2026
