Evaluating shifts in Japan's quality-of-life

• Published in: Socio-economic planning sciences Vol. 43; no. 4; pp. 263 - 273
• Main Authors: Hashimoto, Akihiro, Sugita, Takeshi, Haneda, Shoko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2009; Elsevier
• Series: Socio-Economic Planning Sciences
• Subjects: Data; Data analysis; Data Envelopment Analysis; Economic stability; Economic systems; Indexes (Measures); Japan; Japanese prefectures; Malmquist index; Methodology (Data Analysis); Poverty; Quality of Life; Quality-of-life Data Envelopment Analysis Malmquist index Japanese prefectures; Social status; Social Systems; Socioeconomic status; Japanese prefectures; Malmquist index; Quality-of-life; Data Envelopment Analysis
• ISSN: 0038-0121; 1873-6041
• DOI: 10.1016/j.seps.2009.01.001

This paper presents a Data Envelopment Analysis/Malmquist index (DEA/MI) analysis of the change in quality-of-life (QOL), which is defined as the state of a social system as measured by multiple social-indicators. Applying panel data from Japan's 47 prefectures for the period 1975–2002, we identify significant movement in the country's overall QOL using a “cumulative” frontier shift index. Results suggest that Japan's QOL rose during the so-called “bubble economy years” (second half of the 1980s), and then dropped in the succeeding “lost-decade” (1990s). We also identify those prefectures considered most “responsible” for the shift(s) in QOL. Moreover, the use of both upper- and lower-bound DEAs enabled an evaluation of both “good” and “bad” movements in QOL.