How to Get a Longer Job?: Human and Social Capital in the Japanese Labor Market

• In Event: 082 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session I
  In Refereed Roundtable: A. Table 21. International Economic Sociology II

Abstract

This article investigates roles of human and social capital in the Japanese labor market. Our research question is whether they interact to “accelerate” or “decelerate” each other to provide longer first jobs. Using the 2005 Social Stratification and Social Mobility Survey Data, we measure human capital by educational attainment (college education) and social capital by job search methods (friends or relatives). The dependent variable is the hazard rate of turnover from the first job. We find that social capital benefits especially those with low human capital (high school graduates). When friends or relatives introduce workers to jobs, high school graduates tended to stay longer in their first jobs and had lower turnover than college graduates did. This means that social capital decelerated effects of human capital. Therefore, in the Japanese labor market, social capital has a complementing role to mitigate educational disadvantages.

Author

• Jun Kobayashi, Seikei University