Akio is originally from Japan, and spent his post-high school years in the US. He earned his BA in Economics at UC Davis, and his MA in Economics at University of Southern California. His motivation for research comes from his desire to help addressing the issue of global warming and climate changes. Investigating the economic impact of BC carbon tax is a step towards reaching this goal. In his free time, he loves to spend time with his family, especially with his sons.
During his work with SPI, he conducted research for an EEPRN project entitled: "Carbon Tax, Plant Dynamics, and Productivity: Lessons from Canadian Manufacturing". This work was completed under the supervision of Stefan Staubli.
He also provided research support for another EEPRN project entitled: "Do Carbon Taxes Kill Jobs? Evidence of Heterogeneous Impacts from British Columbia", under the supervision of Hendrik Wolff.
Upon completion of his PhD, Akio moved back to Japan where he is now an Assistant Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. Details on his current research can be found here.
