Currency ＆ Finance
Currency and finance are key to social development and a sustainable future. Facilitating the flow of funds stimulates economic activity and promotes the growth of companies and individuals. Furthermore, the role of finance in addressing environmental and social challenges is essential for a sustainable future. Here are some of our research projects that leverage the power of finance to achieve a better society.
Building a better financial system starts with understanding the true nature of banks
Yasushi Yoshida
Professor, School of Economics and Management
My area of expertise is finance. My research focuses mainly on banks' business models and the deposits (currency) they generate. After graduating from university, I started working in the banking industry and realized that banks' role in society is essentially different from that of securities companies, insurance companies, and other non-bank financial institutions. After studying a specialized field of finance at a graduate school overseas, I started my career as a researcher.
In general, most people perceive banks as economic entities that take cash deposits from people and businesses and then lend the collected funds to companies and other entities. In short, banks first raise funds in the form of cash and then lend them out. While it is understandable that this is how banks are usually perceived from the outside, the reality is different.
Banks do not need to raise money before lending because they create their own deposits as liabilities on their books and then lend them out to corporations and other entities. Deposits made in this way are deposit currency. Deposit currency constitutes an important part of the money circulating in our society. In other words, banks are constantly creating new money through lending. In my research, I view banks as money makers and aim to clarify the mechanisms and conditions that make this possible, as well as to trace the birth and disappearance of the money (deposit currency) created in this way in the actual economy.
The most important thing when implementing institutional reforms in the financial sector is to have a proper understanding of banks. If institutional reforms are implemented without recognizing banks' essential functions and mechanisms, they may impede the functioning of the ecosystem formed by banks and other organizations such as central banks, payment and settlement systems, and supervisory authorities. To avoid such a situation, I hope that this study will help us understand the true nature of modern banking and other financial systems.
Expanding Research
Reviewing policies and creating opportunities for improvement.
Evaluating social security policies from an economic perspective
Shin Kimura
Professor, Graduate School of Information Science
The main theme of my research is analyzing the sustainability and social impact of Japan's fiscal and social security systems from an economic perspective. In particular, I have been evaluating the simulations of public pensions released every five years by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for many years. Utilizing the supercomputer on campus, I predict how pension income and expenditures will change in the future and compare them with the data published by the MHLW. If the results of the evaluation reveal points that need to be improved or issues that need to be addressed, it provides an opportunity to review the policy. I work on my research every day, believing that the results of my published research will be seen by those involved in policymaking and may have even the slightest positive impact on policy judgments and decisions.
Deciphering stock prices and finding the key to a stable energy supply
Natsumi Ochiai
Lecturer, Institute for Policy Analysis and Social Innovation
My specialty is the field of financial engineering. In previous research, I analyzed volatility patterns (price fluctuations) in Nikkei 225 stock index futures and worked to understand the factors behind the price movements. Currently, I am focusing on the energy and electricity markets. In particular, my research involves modeling and forecasting fluctuations in wholesale electricity prices and exploring the factors that cause market prices to rise and fall sharply. If these factors can be clarified, it should be possible to supply electricity at stable prices in the future, so I am working on this research with a sense of mission as one of the studies that will protect our future.
Focus on Person
Aiming to develop a new payment method that will please both customers and shoppers
I belong to a seminar group on finance theory and am currently studying basic knowledge about finance. In my specialized research, which will start in the latter half of my third year, I would like to study payment methods using financial systems. My starting point was my experience as a part-time worker in the customer service industry. I believe that a payment method that can be used quickly and easily by anyone, will not only bring convenience but also many other benefits to both sides, such as increasing customer satisfaction and reducing the workload of shoppers, and will lead to the realization of a better society.
Aiming to develop a new payment method that will please both customers and shoppers
Asuto Sone
3rd year student, School of Economics and Management
Analyzing the relationship between education and income using an original economic model
The issue of inequality remains even in today's society. For example, education is an essential means of solving income inequality, which in turn means that inequality will widen if there is a problem with education. Therefore, I have created an original economic model capable of concurrently the issues of child rearing and education, and am analyzing the impact of educational investment on income inequality using computer simulations. In the future, I intend to seek a balanced education policy that can promote social development while reducing inequality.
Analyzing the relationship between education and income using an original economic model
Wang Ruopeng
4th year doctor's program student, Graduate School of Information Science