Employment Status Persistence in the Japanese Labour Market

The growth of non-standard employment has become a cause for concern for policy-makers trying to boost output and keep unemployment low while also maintaining job security. This paper estimates a dynamic unobserved effects model using the Keio Household Panel Survey, an individual-level panel data set, to investigate the effects on future employment opportunities of employment in Japan’s non-standard employment and regular employment sectors. I find strong evidence of persistence within the labour market, suggesting that past employment experience has a significant impact on future labour market outcomes.