Financial Literacy and Alcohol Drinking Behavior: Evidence from Japan

Impulsivity and Alcohol-Drinking Behavior: Evidence from Japan

Despite the attempt by the Japanese government to reduce alcohol consumption, reduction of alcohol consumption requires improvement. We explore this issue from the impulsivity perspective and investigate whether a causal relationship exists between impulsivity and drinking behavior. We used data from the Preference Parameter Study of Osaka University to capture respondents' drinking status. Our probit regression showed that procrastination, a proxy measure of impulsivity, was significantly associated with drinking behavior, while hyperbolic discounting, a direct measure of impulsivity, was insignificant. Our findings suggest that impulsive people will discount their health in the future; thus, the government should consider impulsivity in policymaking. For example, awareness programs should focus more on future healthcare costs from alcohol-related problems so that impulsive drinkers can understand how much they may need to spend in the future compared to current satisfaction with alcohol drinking.

The Impact of Financial Literacy on Household Health Investment: Empirical Evidence from China

Based on the 2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data, this paper used factor analysis to measure the level of financial literacy of surveyed householders and used the Probit model and the negative binomial model to test the impact of financial literacy (FL) on household health investment (HHI). The results show that: (1) FL is an essential influencing factor in increasing participation in HHI, and householders with a higher level of FL are also more willing to pay for diversified investments. (2) We split the FL level from the two dimensions of knowledge and ability. We found that the primary FL (including financial knowledge, computing ability, and correct recognition of investment product risk) plays a more critical role in the investment decision process. (3) When information sources, health knowledge, and family income are used as mediating variables, FL can influence the decisions of HHI in three ways: expanding information sources, enriching health knowledge, and alleviating income constraints. (4) By analyzing the heterogeneity of household heads in different regions and with different personal characteristics, we found that the medical level of the household location and the life and work experience of the householders played a moderating role.

Hesitancy towards the Third Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine among the Younger Generation in Japan

The younger generation's hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine in Japan received significant attention during the early stages of vaccination. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive study in Japan that analyzes the apprehension towards the third dose of vaccine, commonly known as the booster dose, and its underlying causes. Using data from an online panel survey conducted by the Hiroshima Institute of Health Economics Research at Hiroshima University, we examined the severity of booster dose aversion among youths of different ages. Our findings indicate that a sizeable proportion of the Japanese population, particularly younger men, are hesitant to receive the booster dose. Furthermore, an inter-age group difference in booster dose aversion exists only among men. According to the probit regression results, subjective health status and future anxiety are associated with the booster vaccine hesitancy of men and women of various age groups. Moreover, few socioeconomic and behavioral factors like marital status, having children, household income and assets, and having a myopic view of the future, are also associated with the booster dose aversion among youths of certain ages. Given the diverse attitude of the younger generation, our findings suggest that public health authorities should develop effective communication strategies to reduce vaccine apprehension in the society.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among the Younger Generation in Japan

Japan has vaccinated its older population; a mass vaccination program for younger citizens is underway. Accordingly, this study investigated vaccine hesitancy among younger Japanese citizens. We used online panel survey data from the Hiroshima Institute of Health Economics Research of Hiroshima University and applied probit regression models. Our study found that vaccine hesitancy among younger people was significantly higher than among older people. Moreover, vaccine hesitancy was significantly higher among younger women than younger men and inter-age-group differences in vaccine hesitancy were higher for younger men than for younger women. Regression demonstrated that subjective health status and anxiety about the future were significantly associated with vaccine hesitancy among younger women and younger men of all ages, respectively. Furthermore, marital status, university degree, anxiety about the future, and myopic view of the future had specific associations with vaccine hesitancy among younger women of different ages, while subjective health status, university degree, having children, financial literacy, household income and assets, and myopic view about the future had specific associations with vaccine hesitancy among younger men of varying ages. Therefore, these results suggest that policymakers should consider the diversity among the younger generation while developing effective, tailored communication strategies to reduce their vaccine hesitancy.