Title

Understanding regional growth dynamics in Japan: panel cointegration approach utilizing the PANIC method

Abstract

This study proposes a panel cointegration approach using the PANIC method for understanding the regional growth dynamics using nonstationary panel data, and applies it to Japanese prefectures. This approach enables us to analyze both long-run equilibrium growth path and short-run dynamics across the regions. Specifically, we find that there is one common source of growth to which prefectures attach different weights, that the per capita real income of follower-prefectures will catch up to that of leaderprefectures, and that temporal fluctuations of the catch-up process elicited by Barro type regression qualitatively corresponds to short-run dynamics across prefectures by the PANIC method.

Masahiko SHIBAMOTO
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration
Kobe University
Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe
657-8501 Japan
Phone: (81) 78 803 7036
Fax: (81) 78 803 7059

Yoshiro TSUTSUI
Faculty of Economics, Konan University

Chisako YAMANE
Faculty of Economics, Okayama Shoka University