Researchers

YAMADA Katsunori

YAMADA Katsunori
Professor
Faculty Department of Economics / Graduate School of Economics
Researchmap https://researchmap.jp/kyamada

Education and Career

Education

  • 1996/04 - 2000/03 , Kyoto University, Department of Economics,
  • 2001/04 - 2006/03 , Kyoto University, Graduate School of Economics,

Academic & Professional Experience

  • Apr. 2021 - Today , Kindai University Faculty of Economics Professor
  • Apr. 2014 - Mar. 2021 , Kindai University Faculty of Economics Associate Professor
  • Apr. 2011 - Mar. 2014 , Osaka University The Institute of Social and Economic Research 講師
  • Aug. 2013 - Nov. 2013 , Academia Sinica Visiting researcher
  • Nov. 2012 - Jul. 2013 , Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona Visiting researcher
  • Oct. 2008 - Mar. 2011 , Osaka University The Institute of Social and Economic Research 特任研究員（常勤）
  • Oct. 2010 - Oct. 2010 , Paris School of Economics Visiting researcher
  • Apr. 2006 - Sep. 2008 , Osaka University Graduate School of Economics 日本学術振興会特別研究員(PD)
  • Apr. 2000 - Dec. 2000 , Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi

Research Activities

Research Areas

  • Humanities & social sciences, Economic policy
  • Life sciences, Neuroscience - general

Research Interests

行動経済学, Neuro economics, 脳プロ, マクロ経済学

Published Papers

  1. Misperceived Social Norms and Political Accountability: Evidence and Theory
    Shuhei Kitamura; Ryo Takahashi; Katsunori Yamada
    20, Sep. 2025 
  2. The Constructive and Destructive Power of Social Norms in the Presence of Authoritative Influence
    Shuhei Kitamura; Katsunori Yamada
    American Psychologist  80  (3)  , 345-358, Aug. 2025  , Refereed
  3. A periodic split attractor reconstruction method facilitates cardiovascular signal diagnoses and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome monitoring
    Ze Zhang; Kayo Hirose; Katsunori Yamada; Daisuke Sato; Kanji Uchida; Shinjiro Umezu
    Heliyon  10  (15)  , e35623-e35623, Aug. 2024  , Refereed

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MISC

  1. Why Default Nudges Work: Identifying Cognitive Mechanism with fMRI , Junichi Chikazoe; Kohei Kawaguchi; Kanji Suzuki; Kosuke Uetake; Yasutora Watanabe; Katsunori Yamada , 1, Sep. 2025
    Summary:<p>Default nudges are widely used and effective, but their mechanisms remain unclear. We test whether ease, endowment, or endorsement effects drive choices. In an online randomized experiment, the endowment channel emerges as the principal driver. We then use a novel fMRI approach that constructs brain activity maps of cognitions and uses them to trace their variation in each cognition during decision-making. This approach validates treatments by confirming they elicit the intended cognitions and uses them as instruments to identify the causal effect of cognition on choice. Results show that endowment drives default nudge effectiveness, suggesting policy designs should leverage it.</p>
  2. Feeling Rich or Looking Rich? Quantifying Self-Image and Social-Image Motives , Nicolas Bottan; Ricardo Perez-Truglia; Hitoshi Shigeoka; Katsunori Yamada , NBER working paper , 34094 , Aug. 2025
  3. Misperception and Accountability in Polarized Societies , Shuhei Kitamura; Ryo Takahashi; Katsunori Yamada , 23, Jun. 2025
    Summary:<p>Elections are a primary mechanism through which citizens can hold politicians accountable for misconduct. However, whether voters actually punish corruption at the ballot box remains an open question, as electoral decisions often involve strategic considerations, including beliefs about how others think and behave. To better understand how such strategic considerations operate in this context, we conducted a pre-registered information intervention during a major political corruption scandal in Japan. The treatment provided information about the prevailing social norm—specifically, the perceived social intolerance of the scandal. The treatment increased turnout and support for a challenger, particularly among swing voters who initially believed that others were intolerant of corruption. Among party loyalists with more lenient prior beliefs, the same information backfired, increasing support for the incumbent. The turnout effect among swing voters was sizable—approximately six percentage points—comparable in magnitude to benchmark mobilization interventions involving personalized contact or social pressure. To account for these patterns, we develop a simple model that incorporates mechanisms—notably *moral reinforcement* and *identity reinforcement*—that generate predictions consistent with the observed heterogeneity in responses. By highlighting how perceptions of prevailing norms shape voter behavior in the presence of strategic considerations, this study contributes to a broader understanding of how democratic institutions can remain resilient in the face of political misconduct.</p>

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Awards & Honors

  1. Jul. 2013, Osaka University, Presidential Awards for Encouragement

Research Grants & Projects

  1. 日本学術振興会, 科学研究費助成事業, 談合など自律的協調に関する理論モデルの実証分析 , 京都大学
  2. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Research on the Optimal Design of Survey Questionnaires , Kindai University
  3. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, A Field Experiment on Anticompetitive Behavior

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