Registration is closed for this event

Japan Economic Seminar
Featuring a Special Remembrance in Honor of the Late Professor Takatoshi Ito


Friday, February 20, 2026 | 1:00 – 5:30 PM      
Board Rooms 320 & 330, Geffen Hall, Columbia Business School 

Note: This event is limited to individuals with an active academic affiliation (students, faculty, researchers, and staff at academic institutions) and CJEB affiliates.


Agenda

Introduction: David E. Weinstein, Director, CJEB; Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University

Session 1: “Who Becomes an Inventor? The (Important) Role of Knowledge Absorption from Higher Technical Education” (PDF)
Presenter: Serguey Braguinsky, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland
Coauthors: Takuya Hiraiwa, Shotaro Yamaguchi, Chad Syverson
Discussant: Takao Kato, Colgate University
Moderator: David E. Weinstein

Session 2: “Labor Market Fluidity and Aggregate Productivity" (PDF)
Presenter: Hiroaki Miyamoto, Associated Research Scholar, Hitotsubashi University; Chief Economist, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance, Japan
Coauthor: Noritaka Kudoh
Discussant: Tamon Asonuma, International Monetary Fund
Moderator: Takeo Hoshi, Professor of Economics, The University of Tokyo

Session 3: “Balassa–Samuelson in the Long Run: Qualitative Success, Quantitative Limits” (PDF)
Presenter: Shinnosuke Kikuchi, Assistant Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego
Discussant: Larry Christiano, Northwestern University
Moderator: Tsutomu Watanabe, Professor Emeritus, Graduate School of Economics, The University of Tokyo

Conclusion: David E. Weinstein

JES this year will be followed by a special remembrance in honor of the late Professor Takatoshi Ito.

Agenda

Admission and Contact: 

You must register to attend this event in person.

Special Notes:
● This event is limited to individuals with an active academic affiliation (students, faculty, researchers, and staff at academic institutions) and CJEB affiliates.
● This in-person-only event will not be livestreamed.
● Please be advised that this event may be photographed, so your image may appear on our website later. If this is an issue, please let us know.
● Please bring a government-issued ID or Columbia University ID to access Columbia Business School

If you have questions about the event, please contact us at cjeb@gsb.columbia.edu. 

 

When
February 20th, 2026 from  1:00 PM to  5:15 PM
Location
645 West 130th Street
Board Rooms 320 & 330, Geffen Hall, Columbia Business School
New York, NY 10027
United States

CENTER ON JAPANESE ECONOMY AND BUSINESS (CJEB)

Established at Columbia Business School in 1986 under the direction of its founder, Professor Hugh Patrick, and led currently by its director, Professor David E. Weinstein, the Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB) promotes knowledge and understanding of Japanese business and economics in an international context. CJEB is a research organization widely recognized for its vigorous research activities, international symposia, conferences, and lectures, held in New York City and Tokyo, which provide prominent speakers from the public and private sectors a forum for collaboration and reflection on Japan, the United States, and the global economy. For more information, visit business.columbia.edu/cjeb.