IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v22y2008i3p407-425.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Non-regular employment in Japan: continued and renewed dualities

Author

Listed:
  • Arjan B. Keizer

    (University of Bradford a.b.keizer@bradford.ac.uk)

Abstract

Previous analyses of Japanese employment practices have often focused almost exclusively on regular employment, relegating non-regular employment to a role as employment buffer. However, recent years have seen a rise in non-regular employment which requires a renewed analysis of its role and importance. This article provides such an analysis and presents two major findings. First, it argues that a renewed duality in the labour market indicates important advantages to non-regular employment, not just in terms of flexibility, as suggested by previous interpretations and dual labour market theories, but mostly in terms of costs. However, the importance of this advantage differs between industries. Second, the article discusses the consequences of this duality. It argues particularly that the duality constrains the employment opportunities for women in spite of regulatory changes to strengthen their position. The article concludes with general insights into labour market dualism.

Suggested Citation

  • Arjan B. Keizer, 2008. "Non-regular employment in Japan: continued and renewed dualities," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(3), pages 407-425, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:22:y:2008:i:3:p:407-425
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017008093478
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017008093478
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0950017008093478?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Toshiaki Tachibanaki, 1998. "Introduction to Wage Differentials: An International Comparison," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Toshiaki Tachibanaki (ed.), Wage Differentials, chapter 1, pages 1-34, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Susan Houseman & Machiko Osawa (ed.), 2003. "Nonstandard Work in Developed Economies: Causes and Consequences," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number nwde, November.
    3. Jeffrey H. Dyer, 1996. "Does Governance Matter? Keiretsu Alliances and Asset Specificity as Sources of Japanese Competitive Advantage," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(6), pages 649-666, December.
    4. Gadrey, Jean & Jany-Catrice, Florence & Ribault, Thierry, 2001. "Levels and Systems of Employment in the Japanese Retail Trade: A Comparison with France," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 25(2), pages 165-184, March.
    5. Rebick, Marcus, 2005. "The Japanese Employment System: Adapting to a New Economic Environment," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199247240.
    6. Susan N. Houseman & Machiko Osawa, 2003. "The Growth of Nonstandard Employment in Japan and the United States: A Comparison of Causes and Consequences," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: Timothy J. Bartik & Susan N. Houseman (ed.), Nonstandard Work in Developed Economies: Causes and Consequences, chapter 6, pages 175-214, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    7. Asanuma, Banri & Kikutani, Tatsuya, 1992. "Risk absorption in Japanese subcontracting: A microeconometric study of the automobile industry," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 1-29, March.
    8. Hart,Robert A. & Kawasaki,Seiichi, 1999. "Work and Pay in Japan," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521571371.
    9. Hart,Robert A. & Kawasaki,Seiichi, 1999. "Work and Pay in Japan," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521577724.
    10. Peter B. Doeringer & Edward Lorenz & David G. Terkla, 2003. "The adoption and diffusion of high-performance management: lessons from Japanese multinationals in the West," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 27(2), pages 265-286, March.
    11. Berger,Suzanne & Piore,Michael J., 1980. "Dualism and Discontinuity in Industrial Societies," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521231343.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Georg D. BLIND & Stefania LOTTANTI VON MANDACH, 2015. "Decades not Lost, but Won: Increased Employment, Higher Wages, and More Equal Opportunities in the Japanese Labour Market," Social Science Japan Journal, University of Tokyo and Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 63-88.
    2. Hiroaki Richard Watanabe, 2015. "Neoliberal reform for greater competitiveness: labour market deregulation in Japan and Italy," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 54-76, January.
    3. W. R. Garside, 2012. "Japan’s Great Stagnation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14624.
    4. Jonathan Morris & Rick Delbridge & Takahiro Endo, 2018. "The Layering of Meso‐Level Institutional Effects on Employment Systems in Japan," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 603-630, September.
    5. Gregory Jackson, 2016. "Toward a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Institutional Change in Japanese Capitalism: Structural Transformations and Organizational Diversity," Working Papers halshs-01643921, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hirokatsu Asano & Takahiro Ito & Daiji Kawaguchi, 2011. "Why Has the Fraction of Contingent Workers Increased? A Case Study of Japan," IDEC DP2 Series 1-3, Hiroshima University, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation (IDEC).
    2. Daiji Kawaguchi & Fumio Ohtake, 2007. "Testing the Morale Theory of Nominal Wage Rigidity," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(1), pages 59-74, October.
    3. Storz, Cornelia & Riboldazzi, Federico & John, Moritz, 2015. "Mobility and innovation: A cross-country comparison in the video games industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 121-137.
    4. Sebastien Lechevalier & Cyrille Dossougoin & Christophe Hurlin & Satoko Takaoka, 2014. "How did the Japanese Employment System Change?Investigating the Heterogeneity of Downsizing Practices across Firms," KIER Working Papers 883, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.
    5. Esteban-Pretel, Julen & Fujimoto, Junichi, 2012. "Life-cycle search, match quality and Japan’s labor market," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 326-350.
    6. Kawai, Eizo, 2001. "Re-examination of wage, employment, and hours adjustments: what is crucial for differences in the adjustments?," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 483-497, December.
    7. Bognanno, Michael & Kambayashi, Ryo, 2013. "Trends in worker displacement penalties in Japan: 1991–2005," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 41-57.
    8. Miyamoto, Hiroaki, 2011. "Cyclical behavior of unemployment and job vacancies in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 214-225.
    9. Fagan, Colette. & Norman, Helen. & Smith, Mark. & Gonzalez Menendez, María C., 2014. "In search of good quality part-time employment," ILO Working Papers 994839683402676, International Labour Organization.
    10. Lincoln, James R. & Shimotani, Masahiro, 2009. "Whither the Keiretsu, Japan's Business Networks? How Were They Structured? What Did They Do? Why Are They Gone?," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt00m7d34g, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    11. Siv Gustafsson & Eiko Kenjoh, 2004. "New evidence on work among new mothers. What can trade unions do?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 10(1), pages 034-047, February.
    12. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2015. "The German Labor Market for Older Workers in Comparative Perspective," Research Papers in Economics 2015-02, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    13. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2016. "The hiring and employment of older workers in Germany: a comparative perspective [Die Beschäftigung und Neueinstellung älterer Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland: Eine vergleichende Perspektive]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 49(4), pages 349-366, December.
    14. Abe, Yukiko, 2011. "The Equal Employment Opportunity Law and labor force behavior of women in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 39-55, March.
    15. Masanori Kuroki, 2012. "The Deregulation of Temporary Employment and Workers' Perceptions of Job Insecurity," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(3), pages 560-577, July.
    16. Moriguchi, Chiaki, 2010. "Top wage incomes in Japan, 1951-2005," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 301-333, September.
    17. Kato, Takao & Kubo, Katsuyuki, 2006. "CEO compensation and firm performance in Japan: Evidence from new panel data on individual CEO pay," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, March.
    18. Arjan Keizer, 2011. "Flexibility in Japanese internal labour markets: The introduction of performance-related pay," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 573-594, September.
    19. Sojung Lim, 2019. "Mothers’ Nonstandard Employment, Family Structure, and Children’s Health Insurance Coverage," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 148-164, June.
    20. Robert Dixon & John Freebairn, 2007. "Hours of Work: A Demand Perspective," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 1022, The University of Melbourne.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:22:y:2008:i:3:p:407-425. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.