Abstract
This paper considers the effectiveness of Japanese gender equality policy in the context of the economics of identity and rent-seeking theory. Since the 1990s, the Japanese government has implemented countermeasures against falling birthrates as well as to promote active female participation. However, the effectiveness of both policies is in doubt, and gender asymmetry in the home remains as it was before the new policies were implemented. In order to explain this gender asymmetry, we have adapted a model with a utility function in which identity is associated with gender categories and their social norms. In addition, our model employs rent-seeking theory among gender categories and shows that the extent of dissipation depends on the degree of identity loss.