午夜剧场

My area of specialization is applied econometrics, and my current main research theme is the empirical study of social interactions. To put this research theme in simple terms, it is the economic analysis of human connections. I conduct research that observes the effects of human connections based on economic theory and confirms their influence with real-world data.

My encounter with this theme was purely coincidental. It was sparked by a class I happened to take during my third year in the doctoral program at New York University, where I was studying abroad. I believe the class had a truly uninspiring name, something like "Economic Analysis of Local Interactions I & II." It was an extremely unpopular class, and since I was the only student, I was forced to present every time, which made me think about quitting many times. However, it ultimately led to my doctoral dissertation and my current theme, so I'm glad I didn't give up.

For a theme I chose by chance, various interesting research topics have emerged, and I'm quite enjoying it. In my doctoral dissertation, I conducted an empirical analysis of social contagion, known as the peer effect. Now, my research interests lie in the diffusion of knowledge and technology between people, as well as the formation and influence of human "relationships" and "networks."

It would be a bit lonely if I were the only one interested in this research theme, but fortunately, looking around the world, there seem to be a certain number of economists with the same interests (though not that many). It appears that the study of social interactions is managing to survive as a form of empirical research on game theory models, and the competition in research is not that fierce, which I think is really lucky.

Life is often full of unexpected events, things that arise by chance. In fact, 20 years ago, as a student in the Faculty of Agriculture smoldering in a shabby boarding house by the Lake Biwa Canal in Kyoto, I could never have imagined that I would be conducting research in economics on the theme of social interactions or that I would have the opportunity to lecture at the Faculty of Economics, 午夜剧场. It's a bit scary to think that the future won't go as planned, but I also believe there's a certain joy that comes from things not going as expected.

Therefore, while a student life where you meticulously plan your future and work relentlessly to achieve it is certainly good, a student life of trial and error, where you try various things as your interests dictate, thinking that things won't go as planned anyway, might not be so bad either. In this day and age, where things are intricately intertwined and the future is hard to predict, I think that having many experiences that seem useless at first glance (not just fun, but studying too) might better equip you to deal with unexpected chances in the future.

(Interview conducted in November 2012)