Undergraduate Outcomes/Achievements
Undergraduate students receive training in conducting research and presenting their findings in a professional and academic manner. Juniors work on group projects based on assigned topics, while seniors pursue their own research themes as individual projects, which are ultimately compiled into their graduation theses.
Senior Thesis Highlight—Mateusz Janik
Highlights
- Renewable energy lowers wholesale electricity prices in Poland.
- Merit-order effect confirmed in the short-run wholesale market.
- Higher renewable energy share weakens gas price pass-through to wholesale prices.
- Limited pass-through from wholesale to consumer energy prices.
- Regulation dampens consumer price effects of energy transition.
Class of 2026
Senior Thesis Highlight—Yihui Shao
Highlights
- Digitalization’s impact on trade varies by income level.
- No global significant link between digital payments and trade.
- Digital payments boost imports in high-income economies.
- No robust effect of digitalization on exports.
- Trade effects of digitalization are asymmetric and heterogeneous.
Class of 2026
Senior Thesis Highlight—Koko Katayama
Highlights
- Foreign players’ share shows no significant effect on win percentage in Major League Baseball.
- Performance follows an inverted U-shape with foreign talent share.
- Moderate foreign talent improves team performance; excess reduces it.
- Team WAR offers better insight than win percentage.
- Age and past performance strongly predict team success.
Class of 2025
List of Thesis Titles
AY 2025-2026 (5th and 6th cohorts)
Senior Graduation Theses
- "The Effects of Cacao Bean Consumption on People’s Happiness"
- "The Moderating Role of Institutional Quality in the Debt-Growth Relationship"
- "The Impact of Digitalization on International Trade"
- "The Share of Renewable Energy Sources"
AY 2024-2025 (4th and 5th cohorts)
Senior Graduation Theses
- "The Impact of Pachinko on Crime in Japan"
- "The Effectiveness of Stay-at-home Orders on the Spread of COVID-19"
- "Effects of Water Stress on Economic Development in Small Island Developing Economies"
- "Statistical data verification of the revitalization of rural population through hometown tax"
- "How Have UN Peacekeeping Missions Influenced Economic Growth in Their Respective Areas From 2000-2021?"
- "The ‘Digital Divide’ and Its Effect on Income Inequality in Asia and Pacific"
- "Earthquake Hazard Map and Real Estate: Impact of Nankai trough Hazard Map Release on Land Prices"
- "The Short-Term Impact of Initial Public Offerings on the Financial Performance of Korean Firms"
- "The Impact of Geopolitical Risk on International Trade"
- "The Impact of Interest-Rate Changes on Japan’s Stock Market: A Sectoral Analysis"
- "Looking Into the Indirect Economical Effects of Becoming A NATO Member"
- "Assessing the Impact of Foreign-Born MLB Players on Team Performance"
- "The Role of IPR and Cultural Policy in Creative Goods Exports: Evidence from Developed and Developing Countries"
- "A Global Outlook on the Effects of Fuel Imports on a Country’s Political Stability"
- "Dual Effect of Emmisions Trading Systems (ETS) on the Environment and the Economy: Insights from the China Pilot ETS"
- "'Eat Pray Work …But Don’t Do Daughters': Or so the Patriarchal Script Goes Differentiated Non-Linear Gender Impacts of Rising FLFP in Rural India’s Religious Contexts"
- "Women’s Work Force Participation on Fertility Rates"
Junior Group and Individual Projects
- "Right-to-Work Laws and Labor Market Effects of Globalization in the United States"
- "Refugees and Macroeconomic Outcomes: A Comparative Panel Study of Developed and Developing Host Countries"
- "The Role of Financial Sectors in Mitigating or Magnifying the Effect of Financial Crises"
- "Economic Inequality and Political Stability"
AY 2023-2024 (3rd and 4th cohorts)
Senior Graduation Theses
- "The Impact of Coffee Production on the Producing Countries’ Quality of Life."
- "The Effects of Digital Adoption on International Trade."
- "The Effect of Digitalization on Income Inequality."
- "Examining the Effectiveness of Electric Vehicles on Reducing CO2 Emissions."
- "The Impact of Minimum Wage on Unemployment Rate: The Case of Japan."
- "Fertility and Economy: Theoretical and Empirical Analysis."
- "Software Investment and Changes in Employment Structure in Japan."
- "Population Aging and Environmental Sustainability: A Prefectural Analysis of CO2 Emissions in Japan."
- "The Impact Of Childcare Availability on Fertility Rates in Japan."
- "Brexit Blues: The Effect of Brexit on European Inbound Tourism."
- "The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Employment."
- "Renewable Energy Transition and Socioeconomic Dynamics: A Panel Data Investigation."
- "The Impact of the Aging Population on Land Prices."
- "The Great East Japan Earthquake and its Positive Effects on Employment Rate."
Junior Group and Individual Projects
- "To what extent would the trade volume change for countries trading with Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine?"
- "To what extent do economic conditions affect political preferences of US citizens?"
- "What are the determinants of countries’ female share in politics?"
- "How do non-tradable factors affect the explanatory power of PPP on exchange rate?"
AY 2022-2023 (2nd and 3rd cohorts)
Senior Graduation Theses
- "Causes of Low Fertility Rates in South Korea."
- "The Fiscal Impact of Immigration: The Case of Japan."
- "The Economic Impact of Covid-19 Vaccination: A Country-level Panel Data Analysis of the Impact of SARS-Cov-2 Vaccination Rates on Economic Recovery."
- "The Impact of Mexican-born Immigrants on the U.S. Economy: A State-level Panel Data Analysis."
- "Impact of Immigration on Housing Land Price in the Case of Japan: A Prefecture-level Panel Data Analysis."
- "The Impact of Food and Beverage Imports from the United States on Obesity in Japan."
- "Migration and Economic Development in the Southeast Asian Region."
- "ICT Employment and the EU Economy."
Junior Group and Individual Projects
- "The Economic Impact of Waste Trade in Comparison to Total Trade."
- "The Effectiveness of Carbon Tax in Combating Climate Change."
- "The Correlation Between Stock Markets and Uncertainties."
- "Factors Influencing Cross-country Differences in the Price of Streaming Services." Listed as a Runners-up in the 2023 Mita-festival Thesis Competition
- "The Impact of Immigration on Labor Productivity in Japan."
- "Remittances, Poverty, and Inequality."
AY 2021-2022 (1st and 2nd cohorts)
Senior Graduation Theses
- "Causes of Inflation from Miscellaneous Perspectives."
- "Direction and Determinants of Global Value Chain Participation: A Country-level Panel Data Analysis."
- "How Does Economic Development Influence People’s Health Conditions?"
- "The Impact of COVID-19 on Female Unemployment in the U.S."
- "Fertility Rates in OECD Countries: A Country-level Panel Data Analysis."
- "To What Extent Economic Freedom Leads to Economic Growth?"
- "The Socioeconomic Determinants of Suicide Rate in Japan: A Prefectural-level Analysis."
- "The Effect of Workplace LGBTQ Equality on Firm Productivity: A Firm-level Panel Data Analysis."
- "Earnings and Performance in Major League Baseball: A Team-level Panel Data Analysis."
Junior Group and Individual Projects
- "Foreign Direct Investment and Female Unemployment in Developing Countries: A Country-Level Panel Data Analysis."
- "Regression Analysis of the Impact of Education on Homicide Rate: A Country-level Panel Data Analysis."
- "The Impact of Uncertainty on Migration Flows." Awarded the Silver Medal in the 2022 Mita-festival Thesis Competition
- "The Effect of Public Education Expenditure on School Enrollment Rate."
- "Does Immigration Increase Crime? Evidence from Japan."
AY 2020-2021 (1st cohort)
Junior Group and Individual Projects
- "Trade and Female Participation in the Labor Force: A Country-Level Panel Data Analysis."
- "The Effect of Aging on Cheeseburger Consumption in Japan: A Prefecture-Level Panel Data Analysis."
- "Does Unemployment Rate Increase Smoking Prevalence? A Country-level Panel Data Analysis."
- "Does the Internet Raise Educational Attainment? A Country-level Panel Data Analysis."
Keio University Correspondence Courses(通信教育課程)
- 「外国人労働者と各国の経済」(2026年3月卒業)
- 「コロナ陽性者数と賃金格差の関係について」(2025年9月卒業)
- 「米中貿易摩擦による日本経済への影響」(2025年3月卒業)
Career Placements
Students from this seminar pursue a wide range of career paths across both the private and public sectors, as well as graduate studies in Japan and abroad. Their placements reflect diverse interests in business, finance, consulting, and academia.
In the private sector, graduates have joined global consulting firms such as Accenture Japan Ltd, Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting Co., Ltd., PwC Japan LLC, and KPMG Consulting Co., Ltd., as well as financial institutions including Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock Inc., Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, and Bloomberg L.P.. Graduates have also entered trading companies such as Marubeni Corporation and Sojitz Corporation, as well as firms in manufacturing, energy, and technology, including Nintendo Co., Ltd. and JERA.
A number of students choose to pursue advanced degrees. They have been admitted to graduate programs at institutions such as University of Tokyo Graduate School of Economics, Keio University Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya University Graduate School of International Development, HEC Paris, University of Sydney, University of Cologne, Sciences Po, Seoul National University, and Brandeis International Business School.
Overall, students pursue paths that align with their individual interests and strengths. The seminar places emphasis not on any specific destination, but on developing analytical skills and intellectual curiosity that support a wide range of future opportunities.
These placements represent students from the Classes of 2022 through 2025.