The structural transformation started in Japan during the last decades of the past century and the institutional adjustments that followed have significantly reshaped personal and functional income distribution patterns. In this paper we investigate the long-term drivers of the share of output accruing to labor in Japan. Our contribution lies in extending the theoretical SK schedule model by Bentotila and Saint-Paul to multiple inputs and in providing new empirical evidence on Japan over the period 1970–2012. Results indicate that low-knowledge-intensive market services were mainly responsible for the decline in the labor share in Japan over the four decades considered. This was related to technological change and, more importantly, to labor and product market structural and institutional features. These drivers could have significantly contributed to reducing the bargaining power of labor vis-à-vis employers and, consequently, the labor share.

中文翻译：

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日本劳动力份额的长期动态

日本在上个世纪的最后几十年开始了结构转型，随之而来的制度调整极大地重塑了个人和功能性收入分配模式。在本文中，我们研究了日本劳动力中产出所占份额的长期驱动因素。我们的贡献在于将 Bentotila 和 Saint-Paul 的理论 SK 时间表模型扩展到多个输入，并在 1970-2012 年期间为日本提供新的经验证据。结果表明，在所考虑的四个十年中，低知识密集型市场服务是日本劳动力份额下降的主要原因。这与技术变革有关，更重要的是与劳动力和产品市场结构和制度特征有关。