The Impact of Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity on the Unemployment Rate: Quantitative Evidence from Japan

We would like to thank Professors George A. Akerlof (University of California, Berkeley), Souichi Ohta (Nagoya University), Terukazu Suruga (Osaka Prefecture University), Janet L. Yellen (University of California, Berkeley), and Kazuhiro Yuuki (Kyoto University), and participants of the seminars at the Kansai Institute for Social and Economic Research, Keio University, the CIRJE/TCER Macro Conference, and the annual meeting of the Japanese Economic Association, as well as Messrs. Koichiro Kamada (Bank of Japan, Research and Statistics Department), Takeshi Kimura (Bank of Japan, Policy Planning Office), Toshitaka Sekine (Bank of Japan, Research and Statistics Department) and the staff at the Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies (IMES) for their valuable comments. The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Bank of Japan or IMES. MONETARY AND ECONOMIC STUDIES/OCTOBER 2003