2. Understanding charitable giving and donor behaviour.
Published Book Chapter
Brand or Be Gone: Cultural Commodities and the Struggle for Rural Survival in Japan and India (link) (Preprint)
(with Michinori Uwasu)
In Geopolitics, Innovation and Societal Challenges (edited by Rajib Shaw, Tomo Kawane, and Anjula Gurtoo).
Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Abstract- Japan faces the challenge of depopulation and economic decline in rural areas. This research focuses on regional revitalization, primarily exploring the methods and policies related to the one village, one product (OVOP) concept. Recently, the Government of India launched the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative, which has a similar model that leverages regional strengths to address societal challenges and drive inclusive development. By examining case studies from both countries, focusing on innovation and local resources, these policies should empower communities to harness their potential, leading to sustainable economic growth and enhanced quality of life. The research aims to identify the potential factors that led to the successful implementation of cases, creating a sustainable development based on branding a cultural commodity and testing its scalability and adaptability for policy formulations in countries facing acute depopulation or considering similar initiatives to rejuvenate rural economies.
JEL classification- Q01, R11, M31, O13
Revisiting the Price Elasticity of Charitable Giving: Meta-Analysis of Tax Incentives and Matching Donations (R&R at the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization)
(with Gwen-Jiro Clochard, Taisuke Imai, and Shusaku Sasaki)
(Preprint) (Supplementary text)
Abstract- This paper presents the first quantitative meta-analysis of the price elasticity of charitable giving under both rebate and matching schemes. We compile 151 elasticity estimates from 33 experimental studies and synthesize them using random-effects and multi-level models. Charitable giving is highly price-responsive: the pooled meta-analytic mean elasticity of total donations is -1.25, indicating that lowering the effective price of giving substantially increases charitable revenue. Although we observe considerable between-study heterogeneity and some evidence of publication bias, bias-adjusted estimates remain negative. Furthermore, elasticity is substantially more negative under matching (-1.98) than under rebate (-0.87), contradicting the theoretical prediction of equivalence but aligning with the original experimental findings in this literature. The rebate-matching difference is attenuated when moving from laboratory to field settings, although it persists.
JEL classification- C90, D91, H20
When Place-Based Policy Misses the Place: Japan's Hometown Tax, Rural Diversity, and the Limits of Fiscal Innovation (Submitted)
(with Michinori Uwasu)
Abstract- The Furusato Nozei ("Hometown Tax") program, launched in 2008 across all municipalities in Japan, allows taxpayers to redirect residence taxes to any municipality in exchange for local specialty gifts. The program was intended to revitalize struggling rural communities through discretionary revenue and cultural commodity marketing. This study estimates the program's causal impact on municipal migration outcomes using a municipal panel spanning 2000-2024, covering all Japanese municipalities, and the Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021) difference-in-differences estimator for staggered treatment adoption. Program adoption reduces net migration rates by approximately 1.4 per 1,000 residents (p < 0.01). Propensity score matching corroborates the main estimate, and a placebo test returns a null result consistent with the parallel trends assumption (ATT = -0.255, p = 0.404). Negative effects concentrate in rural municipalities (ATT = -0.960, p < 0.05) and specifically among those in severe demographic decline before adoption (ATT = -0.890, p = 0.015), while growing and urban municipalities show no significant impact. Long-run effects five or more years after adoption reach -1.114 (p < 0.001). Regional disaggregation confirms that the most depopulating regions (Hokkaido, Tohoku) bear the largest negative effects. Inter-municipal competition for donations appears to divert resources from resident-serving public goods toward gift procurement and marketing, accelerating rather than reversing rural decline. The results demonstrate that undifferentiated national fiscal programs produce sharply divergent outcomes across different types of rural areas, with the heaviest costs falling on communities least equipped to absorb them.
Keywords: Furusato Nozei; rural depopulation; fiscal decentralization; place-based policy; rural transitions; Japan
54th ARNOVA Annual Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana
Revisiting the Price Elasticity of Charitable Giving: Meta-Analysis of Tax Incentives and Matching Donations
November 2025
Keiretsu and Regional Revitalization: A Historical and Contemporary Analysis of Japan’s Economic Thought
Indian Society for the History of Economic Thought (ISHET) Annual Conference 2024
University of Hyderabad
October 2024
Can branding of cultural commodities stop the extinction of rural communities (genkai shuraku)? Case studies from Japan and India.
India-Japan Conference 2024
India-Japan Laboratory, Keio University
December 2024
Graduate Research Grant, Osaka University (¥80，000）
2024
YSI Young Scholar Travel Grant, Young Scholars Initiative (YSI) ($250)
2024