NORIYUKI TAKAYAMA

NORIYUKI TAKAYAMA is Professor of economics, at the Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo. He holds a PhD from the University of Tokyo.

He has taken an active part in studies of saving and labor supply and also of the social security system, earning his reputation both nationally and internationally as a specialist in intergenerational economic problems. He is currently engaged in microdata analyses of the aging/declining population. His particular interest is economics of social security/private pensions and of household saving/wealth formation. Since October 2000, he has been leading the 5-year research project (the PIE, the project on intergenerational equity) whose main theme is Setting Options for Fair Distribution of Well-being among Different Generations, as Director General. He is the principal founder of the Japan Pension Research Council which started its activity in February 2002. He is currently Visiting Scholar at the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo.

He has published numerous books and articles in international publications including Econometrica and American Economic Review. His publication includes The Greying of Japan: An Economic Perspective on Public Pensions and The Morning After in Japan: Its Declining Population, Too Generous Pensions and a Weakened Economy. His books in Japanese include Classroom for Pensions, Dynamics of the Stock Economy and Savings and Wealth Formation. The last was awarded the 1996 Nikkei Prize for the best book on economic issues.

He was Editor-in-chief of Economic Review for 4 years between April 1998 and March 2002. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Social Security Review from 2002 and a member of the Advisory Committee of Australian Center for Pensions and Superannuation from 2002.

He has served as an expert member on National Advisory Committees on pensions, tax and statistics. He worked as a consultant at World Bank, European Commission, and OECD. He is a distinguished key player on Japanese pensions.