Constraints on the Level and Efficient Use of Labor in Japan

We examine a number of personnel practices, laws and regulations that lower the supply of labor in the Japanese economy. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of impediments, those that restrict the movement of labor between firms, and those that discourage women from participating to a greater extent. Using other OECD countries and especially the United States as a benchmark, we estimate that removal of these barriers would increase the productive labor supply in Japan by some 13 to 18 percent and thus could raise the potential growth rate of the Japanese economy by roughly 1% per annum over a ten-year period.