Female workers as a buffer in the Japanese economy

• Published in: The American economic review 1993-05, Vol.83 (2), p.45-51
• Main Authors: Houseman, S.N, Abraham, K.G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adjustment; Day labor; employed women; Employment; Employment discrimination; Employment security; Female employees; female labor; international comparisons; Japan; Labor; Labor market; Labour market; Layoffs; Manufacturing industries; mathematical models; Men; Production estimates; Production workers; Quit rates; Roles; Studies; Women; Women in the Labor Market; Women workers; Working women
• ISSN: 0002-8282; 1944-7981

The relative speed of female versus male employment adjustment in Japan is compared with that in the US, and the employment security of Japanese women is contrasted with that of American women. The separate contributions of changes in accessions and separations to the adjustment of male and female employment in Japan are also analyzed. Finally, an examination is made of whether the role of women as a buffer in the Japanese economy has changed over time. Evidence from the manufacturing sector supports the view that female workers serve as a buffer for male workers in the Japanese economy. Differences in male and female employment-output elasticities were large and often statistcally significant during the 1970s and the 1980s. However, although Japanese women do bear a disproportionate amount of employment adjustment compared with Japanese men, Japanese women enjoy greater employment security than either American women or American men. There is no evidence that female employment has become more volatile relative to male employment since the 1970s.