Corporate Governance & Non-regular Employment

Aim. To comprehend the effects of Japan’s corporate governance reforms on corporate environment with a particular focus on a labor situation.

Theories. Political economic theory of institutions, Régulation school, varieties of capitalism (VoC). They enable me to analyze Japan’s corporate governance as a field for coalitions and struggles between various socio-economic actors.

Research questions:

1. What is the impact of the corporate governance reforms on corporate dynamics? Corporate dynamics refer to the changes in corporate institutions, whereby the shareholders are being prioritized over the rest of the stakeholders.

2. What is the impact of the corporate governance reforms on the labor situation at Japanese companies? Here, I concentrate on the issue of labor bifurcation, whereby the share of nonregular employees has doubled between 1990 and 2018, nowadays approaching the levels of regular employment. My project highlights the externalities of the ongoing corporate governance reforms and offers the possible ways of their alleviation.