Study Name: Japanese Panel Survey on Consumers (JPSC)

Study Director: Yoshio Higuchi

Committee: Yoshio Higuchi, Masami Iwata, Masaaki Noda, Charles Yuji Horioka,

Shigemi Honda, Michiko Mifune, Yasuo Ishida, Yasuhiko Baba, Kiyomi Kimura, Takuo Irokawa,

Junko Shigekawa, Akira Yoshimura

Principal Investigators: Akiko Nagai, Chizuka Hamamoto, Yuki Mizoguchi, Yumiko Ono

Host Organization: The Institute for Household Economy

Year Initiated: 1993

 

Governance

 

-                      Funding sources

 

One company has agreed to fully fund the survey for at least ten years.

 

-                      Host organization

 

The study is conducted by the Institute for Household Economy in Tokyo, a private nonprofit foundation with ties to the Economic Planning Agency of the Japanese Government.

 

-Governing body and role of external research advisors

 

In 1993, the Institute established a Committee.The Committee consists of university professors in economics, home economics, sociology, and psychiatry, one government official, and researchers at the Institute.Committee members serve for at least ten years.Each year, the Committee draws up the questionnaire form, prepares an annual report that is presented to the sponsor and later published, makes a presentation at the Board of Directors meeting of the sponsor, and holds a press conference.It also considers applications from outside users and decides all other matters pertaining to the Survey.

 

Sample Design

 

-                      Sample selection

 

The JPSC sample is an equal probability sample of about 1,500 women who were 24 to 34 years old in 1993 from throughout Japan.The survey was designed so as to yield about 1,500 completed questionnaires.In 1997, we added 500 women aged 24-27.

 

-Follow rules

 

None

 

-Oversampling

 

None.

 

-Weights and attrition bias

 

No weights or adjustments for attrition bias.However, because single women living alone were underrepresented in the original sample, care was taken to insure that they are properly represented in the new sample added in 1997.

 

-Sample “refreshing”

 

None except in 1997 (see above).

 

Content

 

Questions re family composition, labor market behavior, income, consumption, saving, assets, liabilities, housing, consumer durables, household management, time use, satisfaction, etc., etc.

 

-Driving policy needs

 

-Benefits of international comparability

 

-                      Content decisions (income, wealth, health, employmentand family history)

 

-Tradeoffs between continuity and the incentives for new directions

 

Collection

 

-Mode

 

The JPSC is conducted on a drop-off-and-pick-up basis.

 

-Instrument design (paper and pencil, CATI, EHC)

 

The study uses paper and pencil.

 

-Dependent interviewing

 

None.

 

-Calendar year, survey year and point of survey measures

 

Some survey year (except calendar year in the case of income), some previous month, and some point of survey measures.

 

Processing

 

-Family composition editing

 

None.

 

-Production of specialized files

 

Specialized files are available. Apply to the Institute.

 

-                      Data and documentation standards

 

Dissemination

 

-Dissemination techniques (CD, web)

 

After three years, data sets are available to scholars only on CD-ROM after applying to the Institute and receiving approval.Applicants must submit a completed application, research schedule, curriculum vita, letter of recommendation, and written oath.

 

-Virtual data centers and functionalities

None.

 

-Improving contractual use of data (confidentiality and encryption)

 

Information on place of residence is deleted to maintain confidentiality.

 

-Comparability of formats (evolution of data standards)

 

ASCII, SPSS

 

-                      Value of joint multinational analysis projects