Kazushige Matsuda - Appointed in 2023
Participant Profile
Kazushige Matsuda
Macroeconomics, Labor Economics2011: Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo 2019: Ph.D. in Economics, Princeton University After serving as a full-time lecturer at the Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, and the Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, he assumed his current position in 2023.
Kazushige Matsuda
Macroeconomics, Labor Economics2011: Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo 2019: Ph.D. in Economics, Princeton University After serving as a full-time lecturer at the Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, and the Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, he assumed his current position in 2023.
The Macroeconomy Is All Around You
My Research Theme and How I Encountered It
I used to enjoy absentmindedly watching people walk by outside from places like cafes. I think it all started when I noticed that some of them looked happy, while others seemed down. This reality of a wide variety of people around me is precisely what the macroeconomy is, and I found it fascinating when I realized that macroeconomics provides useful tools to analyze and improve this existing reality.
The Appeal and Fascination of My Research
As I mentioned earlier, there are people in the macroeconomy who are not doing well. While various factors affect their well-being, I believe that work-related concerns—such as not doing the job one truly wants to do, or having low wages that make life difficult—are among the biggest. It would be ideal if everyone had the opportunity to acquire the skills needed to get the job they want or to earn a high wage, but many people have not been given such opportunities for various reasons. My field of research involves thinking about these issues of jobs, wages, and opportunities for skill development.
This type of skill, which is an investment in oneself, is called "human capital" (and skill development is called "investment in human capital"). Why isn't everyone given the opportunity to acquire the human capital necessary to do the work they want to do? And what policies are needed to improve this situation? I believe that thinking about these problems can help reduce the number of people around you who are not thriving.
A Message for Students
Unlike in high school, at university you will think about problems for which no one has written an answer. Not being able to find an answer immediately can be tough, so you might want to avoid it. However, many of the problems you will face in your life ahead will also, unfortunately, be ones without ready-made answers. On the other hand, these kinds of problems are worth taking a long time to think about. I believe that training at university to tackle such "problems without answers" will not only deepen your understanding of economics but also become important "human capital" for your life.