The Trans Pacific Labor Seminar (TPLS) was founded by Takao Kato and Peter Kuhn in 2007 to begin a much-needed process of international academic integration of labor economists in the Pacific Rim. Since then, the TPLS has been holding annual meetings in the United States, Japan and Australia. This year we are pleased to bring the TPLS meeting back to Hawaii.
Organizers: Takao Kato (Colgate University), Peter Kuhn (University of California Santa Barbara), Ryo Kambayashi (Musashi University), Mari Tanaka (Hitotsubashi University/University of Tokyo), Atsushi Yamagishi (Hitotsubashi University), and Tim Halliday (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa).
The 16th annual TPLS is generously sponsored by the College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; UHERO; and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
16th Annual Trans-Pacific Labor Seminar (TPLS)
Honolulu · November 13–14, 2026
Loulu Room, Bachman Hall, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Friday, November 13
Morning Sessions | Chair: Peter Kuhn
Session 1. Labor Supply
9:00–9:40
Luisa Cefala, Supreet Kaur, Heather Schofield, and Yogita Shamdasani
Habit Formation in Labor Supply
9:40–10:20
Peter Fredriksson, Henrik Hällefors, Arizo Karimi, and Yoko Okuyama
Individual Taxation and Women’s Lifetime Income: Evidence from Sweden’s 1971 Reform
10:20–10:50
Break
Session 2. Race and Immigration
10:50–11:30
Patrick Bayer, Kerwin Kofi Charles, and JoonYup Park
The Long Road to Equality: Racial Capital and Generational Convergence
11:30–12:10
Gaurav Khanna
A Taste for Immigration: Cuisine Diversity and What America Eats
12:10–1:30
Lunch
Afternoon Sessions | Chair: Takao Kato
Session 3. Personnel Economics
1:30–2:10
Marianne Bertrand, Patricia Cortés, Jessica Pan, Hitoshi Shigeoka, and Masayuki Yagasaki
Gender Differences in Promotion Desire: The Role of Managers
2:10–2:50
Mitchell Hoffman
Multiskilling Workers in Organizations
2:50–3:20
Break
Session 4. Policy Effects
3:20–4:00
Yuko Mori and Hiroko Okudaira
Household Responses to Minimum Wage Increases: Understanding the Impact on Poverty
4:00–4:40
Shinya Inukai and Nobuhiko Nakazawa
The Impact of the Publication of School Test Scores on Housing Markets: Evidence from Japan
Saturday, November 14
Morning Sessions | Chair: Ryo Kambayashi
Session 5. Wage Setting
9:30–10:10
Sydnee Caldwell, Louis-Pierre LePage and Attila Lindner
What Higher Wages Buy: Retention, Recruitment, and Effort
10:10–10:50
Daisuke Adachi, Sukjoon Son, and Shintaro Yamaguchi
Monopsony in a Two-Sided Matching Market
10:50–11:20
Break
11:20–12:00
Ellora Derenoncourt, François Gerard, Lorenzo Lagos, and Claire Montialoux
Minimum Wages and Informality
12:00–1:30
Lunch
Afternoon Sessions | Chair: Peter Kuhn
Session 6. Family
1:30–2:10
Stella Canessa, Gordon Dahl, Anna Hasselqvist, Costas Meghir, Susan Niknami, Marten Palme, Helmut Rainer, Olof Rosenqvist, and Pengpeng Xiao
Life After Divorce: Effects of Joint Custody on Parents and Children
2:10–2:50
Miki Kohara and Ryo Sakamoto
Childcare Availability, Bargaining Power, and Fertility Intentions
2:50–3:20
Break
Session 7. Higher Education
3:20–4:00
Etienne Gagnon, Fumiya Uchikoshi, and Atsushi Yamagishi
Test-Optional Admissions and Job Market Performance: Experimental Evidence from Japan
4:00–4:40
Peter Arcidiacono, Matthew Lilley, and Tyler Ransom
The Cost of Admissions Preferences: Institutional Objectives and Academic Performance at the U.S. Naval Academy
5:00–8:00 p.m.
Dinner and cocktails at College Hill (10-minute walk)
The 16th annual TPLS is generously sponsored by the College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; UHERO; and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.