We attempt to examine the extent to which poverty in childhood adversely affects success in adulthood, using micro data from nationwide surveys in Japan and taking into account the recursive structure of life outcomes. We use retrospective assessments of income class at the age of 15, because longitudinal data on household income are not…

This study is part of a collaborative project examining the quality of life in Confucian societies in Asia. Our major findings suggest that, when our sixteen specific life domains are grouped into three life spheres, namely, material, post-material, and public, the Japanese people tend to be most satisfied with the post-material sphere of life and…