Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration,
Kobe University.

External Review of the Mid-term Self-evaluation
ReportOct．14．2019

Meeting minute
External Review Meeting of the Mid-term Self-evaluation Report 2016-2021
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration (RIEB), Kobe University
Venue:Date:
Time:
In attendance:

ANA Crowne Hotel Kobe, Lilac Meeting Room
October 14, 201910:30-12:00
Professor Jean-Michel Grandmont, Professor Koichi Hamada(Emeritus, Yale University), Professor Nir Kshetri (The University ofNorth Carolina at Greensboro), Professor Ashish Malik (University of
Newcastle), Professor Santanu Roy, Professor Ronald Toby (Emeritus,
University of Illinois), Professor Alain Venditti, Professor Eden Yu(Washington University in St. Louis) and Professor Nobuaki
Hamaguchi (RIEB)

Professor Nobuaki Hamaguchi, the director of RIEB, made a presentation of the Midterm Self-evaluation Report 2016-2021.
Attendees made comments as follows:
EVIDENCE IS IMPORTANT IN EVALUATION
An institutional evaluation must be based on evidence. Articles by J.C. Jing and L. Yau(“Research productivity of the economics profession in East Asia,” Economic Inquiry 37,
1999: 706-710) and J.C. Jing and J.-H. Hong (“East Asian rankings of economics
departments,” Journal of Asian Economics 19, 2008: 74-82) studied academic productionin economics from more than 100 Asian universities. We recommend referring to these
papers to understand their method of assessing economic research.
When holding public seminars and conferences, RIEB needs to get feedback from theaudience through a questionnaire survey. For evaluation, we need to present evidence thatthese events contribute to the promotion of understandings of important issues for the
local community and business people. Since RIEB actively holds public events, it
becomes more convincing by showing concrete evidence from their outcomes.
Data on RIEB faculty’s contribution to graduate education, in particular, the number ofdoctoral degree accreditation, should be included in the report.
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UNIQUENESS MUST BE SEEN AS STRONGNESSThe self-evaluation report stresses that the co-existence of researches in economics andbusiness studies is a unique feature of RIEB. However, it is quite common in economics
departments in Japan and elsewhere to observe such co-existence. We understand that coexistence is unique in RIEB, at least among the four national university-affiliated research
institutes in Japan. For this feature to be distinct, there should be an interface of economics
and business studies in researches. We expect such studies will generate fresh ideas,
which should the strongness of RIEB.
RIEB’s research in both economics and business studies focuses on globalization.
Researchers must bear in mind that the current globalization exhibits both faces ofintegration and disintegration with the increasing diversity of orientations.
FUNDING FROM PRIVATE GIVERS
Japanese universities generally depend heavily on the grand-in-aid from the Japan Society
for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). RIEB should diversify the source of funding, suchas from firms, foundations, and other types of private givers. We understand that theJapanese tax system is not adequate for the donation to academic institutions. Funding
from private funds in foreign countries also should be considered. In the United States,
the amount of financing from the private fund is one of the indicators of universities'
institutional evaluation.
INTERNATIONALIZATION AS A STRATEGY FOR INCREASING RESEARCHIMPACT
The self-evaluation report emphasizes the actions of internationalization. Agreements forinter-institutional cooperation are essential for that purpose. To keep agreements practicaland useful for active joint-researches, periodical follow-ups of agreement-based activities
are necessary. These aspects are not mentioned in the self-evaluation report.
We welcome that the quantity of RIEB’s academic output is significantly increasing. But
how about their quality and impact? What is needed to increase citations? As RIEB’s selfevaluation report emphasizes, internationalization is crucial. In Australia, universities
promote co-authoring papers with scholars from North America, UK, and other AngloSaxon countries, especially those who belong to the top 2-3% rank universities. The
management of the university instructs researchers to publish only in top-ranked journals.
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If a language barrier is a problem preventing researchers from publishing in top journals,
RIEB should direct more resources for hiring good proof-readers and translators. It is also
important to note that some non-English native writers lack clarity because they have a
different structure of an argument. Hence, just translating from Japanese to English may
not be enough. Good proof-readers and translators are those who understand such aproblem and can give useful remedial advice.
International joint-research will be significantly enhanced by providing a fund for shortterm visit opportunities to write a paper together for a few days or a week. For active
researchers, who are quite busy, RIEB’s visiting research program lacks flexibility
because the minimum staying period is one month. RIEB should open opportunities not
only for established researchers but also to young scholars, especially for the postdoctoral level.
OPENING NEW RESEARCH FIELD WITH A CAUTIONRIEB seeks to break new ground in the unified field of social science and computational
science – computational social science. Because inter-disciplinary studies require moretime to give results, this endeavor requires the tact, patience, thoroughness, and stamina
of involved scholars. Physics may not be the best ally of economics because physics may
find relations among particular social events through numerous computer simulations, butphysics is not suitable to uncover their micro-foundations.
This meeting minute was circulated and approved by all attendees.
---------------------------------Addendum
The following comments were provided by Dr. Ashish Malik on October 31st, 2019 as a
post-meeting individual view.
Research Performance
Research Outputs in Journals and their Rankings- While there is excellent
evidence of growth in the number of research publications achieved by staff at RIEB,
there is little understanding of the quality of such publications when compared to3

International benchmarks. I provide below a link to the list of high quality and premierjournals that have been approved by the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC).
In the order of importance, rigor and quality, these journal are ranked as A* (general 57% of the total journals in the quality list), A (generally 10-15% of all journals in thequality list), B (about 30-40% of all journals in the quality list) and C (about 40-50% of
all journals in the quality list) in each discipline. More details of these journals can befound via the following link: https://abdc.edu.au/research/abdc-journal-list/
The trend in Australia and New Zealand, and this is supported by University
rankings and assessment is to have vast majority of their publications outputs in thehigher end of this list and actively discourage publication in journals that are not in theabove list, even if they are peer reviewed and feature in other ranking lists of journals.
Research Income-In Australia, there are 4categories of funding that academics anduniversities pursue. First is the Australian Research Council Grants, which are
Commonwealth Funded grants and are most prestigious in nature. Second, Category 2nd

or State Government Grants are ranked 2 for undertaking research that iscommissioned by these state government bodies and departments. Category 3 grants
are focusing on income from industry for undertaking research that is relevant to theindustry. Finally, there are grants from other sources that do not fall in any of theabove categories. Academics are increasingly pursuing grant applications, locally orinternationally with collaborators to generate grant income in one of more of theseabove categories and they generally have targets earmarked for research income.
Research Esteem and Impact-This is a key metric for improving the ranking andrepute of a university. Typically measured through citations, as well as through thepercentage of research collaborations and co-publications with international scholars of
repute, staff who collaborate and co-publish with overseas colleagues from the US, UK,
AU, NZ and Canada have a greater possibility of citation counts and research impact.
Speaking of impact, a vast majority of funding bodies are now focusing on the impact
and relevance of research for the end-users. Academics that are able to articulate anddemonstrate evidence of research impact of their research are likely to be rewarded withhigher levels of funding and recognition for their research. Perhaps this is an area for
RIEB to consider when applying for grants or publishing books and journal articles,
they should encourage international collaborators in their authorship and bids for grantapplications. A related change in this area is to engage in Responsible Research in
Business and Management. This is a relatively new, but upcoming movement that we,4

in the Faculty of Business and Law are involved with and is something that will gain
momentum and visibility for rankings. More details can be found via
https://rrbm.network/
Teaching and Scholarship
The new areas of teaching and learning that are added are a welcome initiative asincreasingly there is a push for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary education inbusiness and economics. The idea is not to end up in a silos approach of one or moredisciplines but think of ways to work together and integrate these critical disciplines inthe teaching and research agendas. RIEB is strategically placed and this can beachieved by more cross-functional knowledge sharing and structural teams.
Employability-A core focus of qualifications now is to offer a meaningful and engaged
experience for students wherein they have the opportunity to do field work or workintegrated learning with industry partners in a local or regional area. Getting work
experience and learning from industry and workplaces while enrolled in a study
program is a key focus. Business schools are achieving this through work placements,
collaborating with industry to take on apprentices as well as leveraging theirinternational partnership networks to allow their students to go a study on exchange
programs with international work placements. Doing so increases the workplace
exposure and skills and the chances of securing employment in a given vocation of theirchoice. Again this is an opportunity for RIEB to consider hosting or taking theirstudents overseas with their collaborating universities for offering an engaged degree
program.
Teaching Excellence- RIEB should also institute recognition programs for teachingthat is connects employability and achieves high levels of performance by teaching staff
employed locally and internationally contracted professors who are well accomplishedin their fields.
Engagement with Industry.
Underpins Teaching and Research- Through effective engagement, RIEB candemonstrate value of the teaching and research they do as one that has an impact andbuilds competencies and capacity that the industry needs. Industry engagement is asource for placement, research grants, collaborative and innovative work as well as aplace for constantly seeking feedback from the industry to produce industry readygraduates. RIEB is well placed to extend and strengthen some of these activities.
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The following comments were provided by Dr. Nir Kshetri on October 28th , 2019 as a
post-meeting individual view.
1) In addition to scholarly and intellectual impact of RIEB, it is important to quantify*practical and policy impacts* of RIEB researchers and include them in the report.
Professor Hamaguchi mentioned that some RIEB professors appear frequently in media.
It might be a good idea to include such achievements in the report and possibly also
publicize on the RIEB website.
2) It might be a good idea to encourage RIEB research fellows to include RIEB as asecondary affiliation in their research publications and find some ways to count them.

6Unofficial translation for review

MIDTERM SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT 2016-2021 (PRELIMINARY)RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (RIEB), KOBE UNIVERSITY

Index
1

Aims and distinguished features of RIEB ..........................................................................1

2

Assessment of the research ...............................................................................................3
2.1 Current situation of research activity .............................................................................3
2.1.1 Organization and structure .....................................................................................3
2.1.2 Actions to improve the quality of research ..............................................................3
2.1.3 Publication of articles and books and presentations of research .............................4
2.1.4 Research fund ..........................................................................................................5
2.1.5 Dissemination of research results and disposition of research resources forjoint-usage. .......................................................................................................................6
2.1.6 Contributions to the academic community .............................................................7
2.2 Current situation of research results ..............................................................................8
2.2.1 Contributions to the academic community .............................................................8

Appendix (Figures & Table) ..................................................................................................10

1 Aims and distinguished features of RIEB
1RIEB was initially established in 1919 as the Institute of Commerce of Kobe Higher School ofCommerce. It is the first among the research institutes and centers of national universities(RICs) in the social science field to celebrate the 100th anniversary. With the establishment ofKobe University in 1949, RIEB became the current form incorporating the Institute for
Mechanization of Management established in the Kobe University of Commerce in 1941. The
founding objective of RIEB is to promote theoretical and technical advances to economic andbusiness studies. Some unique features of RIEB are the inheritances from its history. Newspaper
articles archivation initiated in the Institute of Commerce era and the current construction of alarge-scale business management database share the objective of promoting researchers’
joint-usage of RIEB resource. We can also find similarities in the pioneer spirit of integratingsocial science and STEMS (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) incomputational social science and the computer-based study for mechanization of management in
the pre-war period.
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2

RIEB is unique as a RICs because it works in both economics and business studies. This
characteristic enables RIEB to take the multifaceted approach to analyze and give
recommendations to complex and global social issues.

3

Each research unit pursues the following main themes: (1) Development of the global economy
under increasing diversity (Global Economy Unit); (2) Global finance and macroeconomic
dynamics (Global Finance Unit); (3) Innovation and global competitiveness of Japanese firms(Corporate Competitiveness Unit); and (4) Theory and empirics on accounting systems anddisclosure (Corporate Information Unit). Each RU actively holds seminars of Japanese andinternational researchers and promotes joint-studies.

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In addition to the above mentioned regular activities, RIEB explores a new field. It commits tocontribute to the realization of the Kobe University Vision – toward an outstanding research
university excelling in advanced and integrated research in the humanities and sciences.
In close cooperation with the Center for Computational Social Science (CCSS), RIEB
constructs a new database and conducts a large-scale simulation for socio-economic
and business analysis and future projection using big data and supercomputers.

5

The RIEB library continues to enrich the collection of essential books, periodicals, and materials
for the research of economics and business administration. The Integrated Center Corporate
Archives aims at collecting crucial corporate information and promote the joint-usage of
researchers by the digitalization of the archive and constructing a database.

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RIEB publishes books that disseminate research results to the general public. RIEB also
responds to the demand of the academic community to enhance the opportunity of publishingtechnical articles in English by publishing peer-reviewed academic journals. The Japanese
Accounting Review is the only peer-reviewed journal in English published in Japan. Researchers
also welcome RIEB’s recent launch of the Journal of Computational Social Science as the first
field-specific journal.

7

RIEB contributes to graduate school education at Kobe University in advanced topics. In
cooperation with the Kanematsu Foundation for International Commerce Study and Kanematsu
Corporation, RIEB maintains the Kanematsu Fellowship. It makes an open call of paper
submission and selects excellent studies of graduate students in economics and businessadministration by giving them the Kanematsu Prize to encourage young scholars.

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RIEB disseminated research results to the local society through the public symposium as well as
the forum for business leaders jointly promoted with the Kobe Chamber of Commerce andIndustry.
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2 Assessment of the research
2.1 Current situation of research activity
2.1.1 Organization and structure
Basic information•

Organization and faculty and research fellow list (See RIEB Bulletin pp.4-6)•

The age structure of the faculty members (See Figure 1 in appendix)

Special notes on 2.1.1
Establishment of Center for Computational Social Science
In March 2017, RIEB created the Center for Computational Social Science (CCSS). Computationalsocial science is a new field of research that analyzes socio-economic phenomena using rapidly
growing resources from big data and computational science. As the first theme-specific research
center in Japan, CCSS aims to promote both domestic and international joint-studies incomputational social science for the development and standardization of research methods.
Specialists in the center are determined to make it one of the leading international research hubs.
Researchers affiliated to CCSS are from Kobe University's departments of natural science together
with humanity and social sciences; some are from outside universities, including overseas colleges.
See RIEB Bulletin p.37
High frequency of research seminars
RIEB invites researchers in Japan and other countries to give seminars under the title of
RIEB/Kanematsu Seminar, Latin America Seminar, Monetary Economics Seminar, Kanebo Seminar,
depending on topics and scope. The average frequency per year of seminars in the first half of thecurrent six-year period (2016-2021, hereafter 3rdMTP) increased to 78.00 from 71.83 of theprevious six-year period (2010-2015, hereafter 2ndMTP). International symposium also increased by
272% from 2.83 in 2ndMTP to 7.71 in 3rdMTP.
See figures 2 and 3
See also RIEB Bulletin pp.13-18
2.1.2 Actions to improve the quality of research
Basic information(omitted from the English version)
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Special notes on 2.1.2
Actions for internationalization
Actions for internationalization taken in 3rdMTP showed outstanding results. In particular,internationalization advanced through: (i) hiring of foreign scholars; (ii) overseas dispatch of young
faculty members; and (iii) collaboration with visiting researchers. RIEB hired two foreign scholars
during 2016-2019, reaching a total of five foreign faculty members. RIEB invited five visiting
researchers annually. As a result, articles written with international co-authors increased significantly.
The annual average number of articles written with international co-authors and published inpeer-reviewed journals increased by more than 80% from 9.2 in 2ndMTP to 17.3 in 3rdMTP. The
number of international seminars increased by more than 30% from 29.33 per year in 2ndMTP to39.14 per year in 3rdMTP.
See figures 4 and 6 in appendix
See also RIEB Bulletin p.12 and pp.21-26
Actions for the promotion of research integrating natural science and social science
In the 3rdMTP, RIEB added six faculty members with a background in STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics) to promote cross-cutting research on social problems such as
computational social science, information science, and transport study.
Actions to promote pioneer research
RIEB allocates discretionary spending budget to the director to encourage the faculty to engage inpioneer research. From 2016 to 2019, this budget amounted to 10,258 thousand yen for 43 projects.
The Office of Promoting Research Collaboration supports the faculty to hold seminars and academic
symposia.
2.1.3 Publication of articles and books and presentations of research
Basic information(omitted from the English version)Special notes on 2.1.3
The increased number of published peer-reviewed articles
The number of published peer-reviewed articles increased by about 63% from 22.5 per year in the
2ndMTP to 36.7 per year in the 3rdMTP. As a result of the active research activities, the RePEc(Research Papers in Economics) institutional ranking rose remarkably to the third in Japan, only
after the Graduate School of Economics of the University of Tokyo and the National Graduate
Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), while being the first among the research institutes.
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See Figures 6 and 7 in the appendix.
The increased number of articles written with international co-authors
As a result of the actions for internationalization, the number of articles written with international
co-author(s) increased by more than 80% from 9.2 per year in 2ndMTP to 17.3 per year in 3rdMTP.
The number of published books also increases
The number of published books steadily risen from 5.8 per year in 2ndMTP to 8.7 per year in
3rdMTP.
See figure 8 in appendix
The increased number of paper presentations
RIEB faculty made presentations in Japanese academic meetings 100.3 times per year in 3rdMTP,
which increased from 53.8 times per year in 2ndMTP. Presentations in overseas congresses risen
from 39.0 per year to 33.0 per year.
2.1.4 Research fund
Basic information
Budget: RIEB Bulletin p.8
Special notes on 2.1.4
The increased amount of JSPS grant-in-aid for scientific research
The amount of JSPS grant-in-aid for scientific research obtained by RIEB faculty increased to
87,096 thousand yens per year in 3rdMTP from 42,044 thousand yens per year in 2ndMTP,
demonstrating remarkable 2.07 times growth. The number of obtained grants also increased
substantially from 18.17 per year in 2ndMTP to 29.67 per year in 3rdMTP.
See figure 9 in appendix
Special fund for 100th anniversary
RIEB celebrates 100th anniversary in 2019. On this occasion, the commemorative projects are being
implemented, including the launch of the Journal of Computational Social Science, the digitalizationof historical documents, and other individual projects of the faculty. RIEB has set the goal of raising
70 million yens fund from the public donation, of which the donation reached 65 million yens (95%)
as of August 2019. As a part of the digitalization project, the construction of the Kanebo documents
database was considerably advanced, and also published the reprint of hid-written job
recommendation letters for graduates written by Tetsuya Mizushima, the first headmaster of Kobe
Higher School of Commerce in the 1910s.
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2.1.5 Dissemination of research results and disposition of research resources for joint-usage.
Basic information
Publications: RIEB Bulletin pp.27-28
Database: RIEB Bulletin pp. 29-31
Special notes on 2.1.5
Peer-reviewed journal article publication and presentations at academic congresses
The number of published peer-reviewed articles increased by about 63% from 22.5 per year in
2ndMTP to 36.7 per year in 3rdMTP. Internationally co-authored articles increased by more than
80% from 9.2 per year in 2ndMTP to 17.3 per year in 3rdMTP. RIEB faculty made presentations inJapanese academic meetings 100.3 times per year in 3rdMTP, which increased from 53.8 times per
year in 2ndMTP. Presentations in overseas congresses grew from 39.0 per year to 33.0 per year.
Construction of database
The Integrated Center for Corporate Archives provides researchers with a wide range of corporate
documents and databases. With the support of the JSPS grant-in-aid for scientific research, theCenter had developed the database of Kanebo documents for research usage since 2013 with a majorrevision in April 2017. The Kanebo documents are internal documents of the Kanebo Company
covering from the foundation in 1886 to its failure in the 1990s. RIEB and the Graduate School ofBusiness Administration received the donation of the documents in December 2008. Since then,classification and categorization of about 6,500 items have proceeded. The number of access to the
web-based database has increased from 8,116 in 2016 to 12,427 in 2017 and 13,505 in 2018. Also,with the assistance of JSPS grant-in-aid for scientific research, the Edo period economy database
was completed. It is available both in Japanese and English on the RIEB homepage withcommentary. The Edo period economy database gathers the daily data of the rice market price, theconversion rate of gold and silver, the conversion rate of gold and currency, and the data of theweather, with information of critical economic events and natural disasters which affected theJapanese economy in the Edo era, accompanied by the commentary (Japanese/English). The numberof people who accessed the database was 3,563 in 2016, 6,819 in 2017, and 4,275 in 2018.
The appearance of RIEB faculty in media
RIEB faculty members often express their views to the general public through media such as
newspapers, magazines, and television and radio programs. Kazuo Nishimura had a notable impact
with his commentary on the problems of education, especially the decline in students’ academic
performance. In 3rdMTP, he wrote 33 articles for newspapers and magazines and appeared fourtimes on television and radio programs. Nobuyoshi Yamori has regularly commented on local
finance in newspapers and magazines (26 articles) and on television and radio programs (29 times).
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He has also published three books.
Giving back to society
RIEB faculty members believe in sharing their research results with society. In September 2018,
Yasuo Takatsuki offered intermediate and advanced courses in the reading of historical documents toa public audience. He also published a book for the general public titled Osaka Dojima Rice Market;
Edo Government V.S. Market Economy. This work conveyed the message of how efficienttransactions in the Osaka Dojima Rice Market were, especially the world-first future market trade,and examined the regulatory mechanisms of the Edo government that kept the market in order. The
book already sold 18,000 copies. It was featured in four book reviews and received 4.9 stars in the
Amazon.co.jp customers’ review.
2.1.6 Contributions to the academic community
Special notes on 2.1.6
Launch of the Journal of Computational Social ScienceAs a part of the RIEB 100th anniversary project, Springer launched the Journal of Computational
Social Science (JCSS) in January 2018. JCSS is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal that ties
together groundbreaking research across the strata of the social sciences (sociology, economics,
political science, psychology, linguistics, and other disciplines), physics, biology, management
science, computer science, and data science. Since the launch, with Takashi Kamihigashi acting as
the editor-in-chief, JCSS has published 54 articles by August 2019. Most published articles arecontributions from non-Japanese scholars. JCSS has grown fast to play a vital role in publishing the
research of computational social scientists, contributing to the global academic community.
Publication of The Japanese Accounting Review
The Japanese Accounting Review (TJAR), launched in 2011, is the only peer-reviewed journal inaccounting published in Japan in English. TJAR publishes the analyses on the accounting system ofJapan and other countries, as well as the interdependence of the country-specific accounting systems
and the international standard system. TJAR mainly focuses on issues related to accounting in the
Asia-Pacific region. In 3rdMTP, TJAR published seven articles and hosted four international
conferences. TJAR makes significantly positive influences to the international academic community
because contributors to TJAR and participants to TJAR conferences include many overseas scholars.
Actively held symposium for the general public
RIEB promotes symposia and conferences addressed to a wide variety of audiences, including
researchers, policy-makers, graduate students, and the general public. Symposia for the generalpublic are actively held recently, aiming at the dissemination of research results. The number of7

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symposia held in 3rdMTP is 7.71 per year, which is far above 2.83 per year in the 2ndMTP. Titles ofsuch symposia include "How to measure a happiness" and "Toward the financial business which
contributes to actively growing local economy and firms." They attract the interest not only of
specialists but also of the general public, including people of Kobe, thus contributing to thepromotion of local culture.
2.2 Current situation of research results
2.2.1 Contributions to the academic community
Required information•

List of outstanding research results (See table in appendix)

We selected the most outstanding research results in the first half of 3rdMTP in the explanations of
the research results document. Below, we explain the main findings and contributions of that
research.
Special note on 2.2.1
1. Kazuo Nishimura has studied the economic theory of non-linear dynamics. Based on previous
studies, he investigated the relationship between economic growth and public debt and the
production chain in 3rdMTP. It is notable that Nishimura has been active as the editor-in-chief ofthe International Journal of Economic Theory (IJET) and contributed to the development of
economic theory by organizing special issues. In 3rdMTP, he edited three special issues. IJET ispublished by Wiley, and it is the only peer-reviewed journal of economic theory based in Japan.
Outputs (1) and (2) are highly valuable achievements published in top journals in the field ofmonetary theory and economic theory. Especially, output (1) has an essential policy implicationfor economic growth in countries that have increased public debt, including Japan.
Kazuo Nishimura has very actively announced research-based proposals on problems ofeducation. Primarily, he advocated the importance of science and mathematics and warned of theseriousness of the worsening academic performances of students in recent years. In 3rdMTP, hecontributed 33 articles to newspapers and magazines and appeared four times on television andradio programs. Nishimura also published academic articles in the Journal of Higher Education
and Theory and Practices about the importance of science and mathematics (in particular,
physics) in Japan. This research was presented at the International Conference on Educationaland Instructional Technology 2016 and received the Best Presentation Award. The above factshows that Nishimura's activity on education problems receives high recognition internationally.
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2. Takashi Kamihigashi is an internationally known scholar in macroeconomic dynamics. He has
published numerous articles using the dynamic programming method in prestigious international
academic journals. He is recently interested in and contributes to developing computational
methodologies for social science in general. It is most notable that Kamihigashi became theeditor-in-chief of the Journal of Computational Social Science published by Springer and makeefforts to develop computational social science. To be the editor-in-chief of a journal of theprestigious publisher is evidence of him to be highly evaluated internationally. Among his many
published articles in 3rdMTP, output (1) and (2) are especially highly esteemed because they are
published in the Journal of Economic Theory, the top in economic theory.
3. Yasuo Takatsuki’s works on the Edo era economy gather attention. His book entitled Formation
and Transformation of the Rice Market in the Early Modern Era: Judicial Power of Edo Bakufu
and Development of Dojima Rice Market received the Nikkei Best Publication Prize in 2012.
His book published in 2018 (output (1)) defuses his academic knowledge to the general public
and received high praise in its social, economic, and cultural aspects. The book has alreadysold 18,000 copies. It has been featured in four book reviews and received 4.9 stars from
Amazon.co.jp customer reviews. An interview in the Nihon Keizai Shinbun (November 11th,2018) about the future trade market of rice featured Takatsuki’s study. He has also contributed to
television programs of NHK and TV Tokyo and newspaper articles in Yomiuri Shinbun (August
26th, 2016) and Asahi Shinbun (July 12th, 2019).
4. Nobuyoshi Yamori’s main topic of research is the financial system. His recent studies haveexamined the role of financial institutions in the revitalization and development of the local
economy. His research has a strong social and economic impact, and it attracts the attention of
the media. Between 2016 and 2019, Yamori published 26 articles in newspapers and magazines,
appeared 29 times in television and radio programs, and published three books. Yamori occupies
several high positions in the government, such as Senior Counselor of the Financial Service
Agency. He received the Osaka Bankers’ Association Forum Award in 2017.

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Appendix (Figures & Table)
Figure 1

Age structure of the faculty
As of May 1, 201970～75 years
7%～29 years
3%60～69 years
10%30～39 years
28%
50～59 years
24%

40～49 years
28%

Figure 2

Number of seminars（Annual average）
78.00
71.83

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

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Figure 3

Number of symposium and conference for general public(Annual average)
7.71

2.83

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

経済経営研究所HPを基に作成

Figure 4

Published international journal articles written withinternational co-author （Annual average)
17.3

9.2

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

経済経営研究所業績DBを基に作成

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Figure 5

Number of internatiional seminars（annual average)
39.14
29.33

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

経済経営研究所HPを基に作成

Figure 6

Published peer-reviewed journal articles（Annual average）
36.7

22.5

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

経済経営研究所 業績DBを基に作成

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Figure 7

RePEc（Research Papers in Economics） rank in Japan
Rank
1
3.00

3
5

5.75

7.00
7

7.08

6.67
8.17

8.33

9
11
13

13.33

15
17.00

17
19
H23

H24

H25

H26

H27

H28

H29

H30

R1

※平成23年10月からRePEcに登録。毎月の順位の年平均を示している。

RePEc https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.japan.html

13Unofficial translation for review

Figure 8

Number of published books(Annual average)
8.7

5.8

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

経済経営研究所 業績DBを基に作成

Figure 9

Obtained JSPSGrant-in-Aid(Annual average, 1000 yens）

87,09642,044

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

研究活動報告を基に作成

14

List of Outstanding Research Results
Field
Code
code

1

2

Field
name

Theme & Summary

Analysis of economic policy with
non-linear dynamics methods andstudy of Japanese education
problems with attention to thescholastic ability decline. Output (1)investigated the relationship between
economic growth and public debt
applying endogenous growth model.
Output (2) introduced transaction
cost in production chain model toanalyze endogenously determinedfirm size, number of firms, andequilibrium prices.
Output (3)Economic analyzed the effect of science and
07010
theorymathematics education in juniorhigh- schools and high-schools on
income after the collage graduation.

His study uses dynamic programing
for the analysis of economic
dynamics, with special attention to
problems of asset bubble anddeflation, stochastic stability, andgame theory. Output (1) obtained
novel results from comparative
Economic
statics in the aggregative game.
07010
theoryOutput (2) proved the existence ofthe stationary distribution inmonotonicly increasing Markov
process and obtained conditions fora global stability. Output (3) shows
new findings in the existence and theuniqueness of the solution of the

Scient Socioific econo
impac mict
impactSS

SS

SS

Reason for the selection
Kazuo Nishimura has studied the economic theory of
non-linear dynamics. Based on previous studies, heinvestigated the relationship between economic growthand public debt and the production chain in 3rdMTP. It
is notable that Nishimura has been active as the editor-inchief of the International Journal of Economic Theory(IJET) and contributed to the development of economic
theory by organizing special issues. In 3rdMTP, heedited three special issues. IJET is published by Wiley,and it is the only peer-reviewed journal of economic
theory based in Japan. Outputs (1) and (2) are highly
valuable achievements published in top journals in thefield of monetary theory and economic theory.
Especially, output (1) has an essential policy implicationfor economic growth in countries that have increased
public debt, including Japan.
Kazuo Nishimura has very actively announced researchbased proposals on problems of education. Primarily, headvocated the importance of science and mathematics
and warned of the seriousness of the worsening academic
performances of students in recent years. In 3rdMTP, hecontributed 33 articles to newspapers and magazines andappeared four times on television and radio programs.
Nishimura also published academic articles in the
Journal of Higher Education and Theory and Practices
about the importance of science and mathematics (inparticular, physics) in Japan. This research was presented
at the International Conference on Educational and
Takashi Kamihigashi is an internationally known
scholar in macroeconomic dynamics. He has publishednumerous articles using the dynamic programming
method in prestigious international academic journals.
He is recently interested in and contributes to developing
computational methodologies for social science ingeneral. It is most notable that Kamihigashi became theeditor-in-chief of the Journal of Computational Social
Science published by Springer and make efforts todevelop computational social science. To be the editorin-chief of a journal of the prestigious publisher isevidence of him to be highly evaluated internationally.
Among his many published articles in 3rdMTP, output(1) and (2) are especially highly esteemed because they
are published in the Journal of Economic Theory, the top

Output(1)(2)

Authors

Title

Journal Volume Pages Year

DOI

Arnaud Cheron,
Growth and Public Debt:
Kazuo Nishimura, What Are the Relevant
Carine Nourry,
Trade-offs?
Thomas Seegmuller,
Alain Venditti

Journal of 51(2-3) 655Money,
682
CreditandBanking2018 10.1111/
jmcb.12
543

Tomoo Kikuchi,
Kazuo Nishimura,John Stachurski

Theoretic 13(2)alEconomics

2018 10.3982/
TE2376

Span of control,transaction costs, and thestructure of production
chains729760Kazuo Nishimura, Science Subjects Studied Journal of 18(1)Junichi Hirata,
and Relation to Income
HigherTadashi Yagi, Junko after University
Education
Urasaka
Graduation - An Empirical Theory
Analysis in Japan
andPractice

49-63 2018 10.3342
3/jhetp.v
18i1.534

Camacho, Carmen, Robust comparative
Journal of 174
Kamihigashi,
statics for non-monotone Economic
Takashi, andshocks in large
TheoryKamihigashi,
Seeking ergodicity in Journal of 163
Takashiand dynamic economies
Economic
Stachurski, John
Theory288299

(3)

(1)

(2)

(3)

9009242018 10.1016/
j.jet.201
7.12.003
2016 10.1016/
j.jet.201
6.03.006

Kamihigashi,
Infinite-horizon
Optimizati 65(10) 1899- 2016 10.1080/
Takashi and Yao, deterministic dynamicon19080233193
Masayukiprogramming in discrete
4.2016.1
time: a monotone
193737
convergence principle anda penalty method

3

4

Yasuo Takatsuki studied theefficient market hypothesis and theeffectiveness of government market
regulation for the case of Osaka
Dojima Rice Market in Edo era,
which is known as the first future
trade market in the world. Output
0707 Economic (1) disseminate the result of his
0 history
study showing that the efficiency of
the rice market in Edo era and therole of public policy of Edo Bakufu.
Outpt (2) developed the artificial
intelligence aided methodology toread historical documents written by
hand.
Nobuyoshi Yamori studies financial
system (in particular local financial
institutions). Output (1) posedquestions and solutions based on thequestionaire
surveyontheFinance & management of local financial
0706
financial institutions, such as local banks.
0
Output (2) analyzed the effect of thesystemcomposition of executive board,such as the number of board
members and the existence outside
directors on the performance offinancial institutions. Output (3)studied the effect of theＳ

Ｓ

Yasuo Takatsuki ’ s works on the Edo era economy
gather attention. His book entitled Formation andTransformation of the Rice Market in the Early Modern
Era: Judicial Power of Edo Bakufu and Development ofDojima Rice Market received the Nikkei Best
Publication Prize in 2012. His book published in 2018
(output (1)) defuses his academic knowledge to thegeneral public and received high praise in its social,economic, and cultural aspects. The book has alreadysold 18,000 copies. It has been featured in four bookreviews and received 4.9 stars from Amazon.co.jp
customer reviews. An interview in the Nihon Keizai
Shinbun (November 11th, 2018) about the future trade
market of rice featured Takatsuki ’ s study. He has also
contributed to television programs of NHK and TV
T kd Yamori ’ s maini l itopic
Y of
i researchi Shi b is the
Nobuyoshi
financial system. His recent studies have examined therole of financial institutions in the revitalization anddevelopment of the local economy. His research has astrong social and economic impact, and it attracts theattention of the media. Between 2016 and 2019, Yamori
published 26 articles in newspapers and magazines,
appeared 29 times in television and radio programs, andpublished three books. Yamori occupies several highpositions in the government, such as Senior Counselorof the Financial Service Agency. He received the Osaka
Bankers’ Association Forum Award in 2017.

(1)

(2)

『大阪堂島米市場：江 講談社
戸幕府 vs 市場経済』
Jinhui Chen, Yasuo An AI-based Approach to Journal of 1(1)Takatsuki, Tetsuya Auto-analyzing Historical Computat
ional
Handwritten BusinessTakiguchi,
Munehiko Itoh, and Documents: As Applied Social
to the Kanebo Database Science
TakashiKamihigashi

2018

髙槻泰郎

1671852018 10.1007/
s420010170009-2

(3)

(1)

(2)

(3)

伊東眞幸、家森信 『地銀創生 － コント善編
リビューション・バン
キング』
Nobuyoshi Yamori, Corporate governanceKozo Hariyama,
structure and efficiencies
and Kei Tomiuraof cooperative banks

金融財政
事情研究
会
Internatio 22
nal
Journal of
FinanceandEconomic
Nobuyoshi Yamori How did the introduction Emerging 55(9)Marketand Jianjun Sunof deposit insurance
Financeaffects Chinese banks?
andAn investigation ofTradeswealth effects

20163683782017 10.1002/
ijfe.159
32022- 2019 10.1080/
15404962038
X.2018.
1515736

BackgroundNational universities present the medium‐term (sixyears) objectives and plans to the Ministry of Education(MEXT). The current term is 2016‐2022.
National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality
Enhancement of Higher Education (NIAD) conducts
evaluation of the conduct of the plans.
National universities present self‐assessment report to
NIAD during the forth‐year based on the record by
March 2020.
Kobe University instructs each department to draft theself‐assessment report by December 2019. Eachdepartment report should be accompanied by thereport of external reviewers’ opinion.

Midterm Self‐Assessment
The third Medium‐term Period 2016‐2012

2

1. RIEB’s distinguished features

2 Assessment of the Research

History: 100 years of great success.
Unique structure: economics and business studies
Contribution to the Kobe University Vision – toward an
outstanding research university excelling in advanced andintegrated research in the humanities and sciences.
Contributing also to the graduate school education inadvanced topics.
Contribution to the MEXT’s policy for the research institutes
affiliated to national universities to enhance the progress ofscience providing the science community with their internal
resource for a joint‐usage and a joint‐research.
Outreach to the general public through open symposia andseminars for the local business.

Current situation of research activity
Organization• Establishment of Center for Computational Social Science• High frequency of research seminars

Actions to improve the quality of research• Internationalization• Promotion of research integrating natural science and social sciencePublication of articles and books and presentations ofresearch• The increased number of published peer‐reviewed articles• The number of published books is also increasing• The increased number of paper presentations

34

2 Assessment of the Research
Published international journal articles
written with international co‐author（Annual average)
17.3

Current situation research activity (continued)

Number of published books(Annual average)

Published peer‐reviewed journal articles（Annual average）
36.7

Research fund

8.7
5.8

22.5

• The increased amount of JSPS grant‐in‐aid for scientific research• Special fund for 100th anniversary

9.2

2.83

• The launch of Journal of Computational Social Science• Publication of The Japanese Accounting Review• Actively held symposium for the general public

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

経済経営研究所HPを基に作成

8.33

6.67

5.75

8.17
13.33
17.00
R1

 Contributions to the academic community

3.00
7.00

7.08

H30

7.71

H29

78.00
71.83

RePEc（Research Papers in
Economics） rank in Japan

Rank
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19

H28

Number of symposium and conference forgeneral public(Annual average)

3rdMTP

経済経営研究所 業績DBを
基に作成

H27

Number of seminars（Annual average）

2ndMTP

3rdMTP

H26

経済経営研究所業績DBを基に作成• Peer‐reviewed journal article publication and presentations at
academic congresses• Construction of database• The appearance of RIEB faculty in media• Giving back to society

2ndMTP

経済経営研究所 業績DBを基に作成

H25

3rdMTP

H24

2ndMTP

H23

Dissemination of research results and disposition of researchresources for join‐usage※平成23年10月からRePEcに登録。毎月の順位の年平均を示している。

RePEc https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.japan.html

5

2 Assessment of the ResearchCurrent situation of research results (distinguished faculty)Kazuo Nishimura• Economic theorist of non‐linear dynamics, analysis of the relationshipbetween economic growth and public debt and the production chain• He is also a prominent critic of Japanese education policy

Takashi Kamihigashi• A prominent scholar in macroeconomic dynamics; his research expands
to the computational social science• Editor‐in‐chief of the Journal of Computational Social ScienceYasuo Takatsuki• A leading scholar in economic history in near modern era Japan (Edoperiod), especially on the world‐first future commodity trade in the
Osaka Dojima rice market

Nobuyoshi Yamori• An authority in Japanese local financial institutions. His study has an
impact on media opinion and government policy.

76