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Is Cool Biz bad for the economy?

July 24, 2009
By Ken Worsley


A Bloomberg article published today suggests that the government-led “Cool Biz” campaign might actually be bad for the economy. Under the Cool Biz guidelines, the government is recommending that firms set their air conditioners at 28 degrees Celsius during the summer. 28 degrees, of course, is hardly cool. To make up for the higher air conditioner temperatures, workers have been encouraged to go without jackets and ties during the summer months.

In truth, one does see more open necks and more short sleeves and more guys carrying their jackets on the subway, but many firms (and workers) are reluctant to change their dressing habits.

Many of the assertions behind the Bloomberg article are based on the research of Shinichi Tanabe, a professor of Architecture and Environmental Engineering at Tokyo’s Waseda University. According to Tanabe, each degree the temperature is raised above 25 degrees cuts worker productivity by 1.9%.

This paragraph in particular struck me as odd:

The United Nations last August started its “Cool UN” energy-saving campaign at its New York headquarters, choosing a temperature target of 25 degrees. That’s lower than the Cool Biz target, even though Tokyo and other Japanese cities have hotter summers than New York.

If one is inside and the air conditioning is on, it doesn’t really matter what the outside temperature is. What matters is what the air conditioner is set at. Then again, the fact that the UN has adopted Cool Biz pretty much cements its status as meaningless.

The Bloomberg article does not show us the methodology behind Tanabe’s research, nor does it offer a peer-reviewed backup to the study (ed: It’s an article in the mass media). Still, there does seem to be some common sense behind the assertion made: If people are not allowed to dress comfortably at work, their productivity will suffer.

My favorite quote from the article: “Kadokura said if Japan wants its economy to grow at a time when its population is declining, it needs to boost productivity.”

No, that quote was not made by an elementary school student. Takashi Kadokura is a former employee of Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. I wonder what other profound insights they have to provide.

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Comments

7 Responses to “Is Cool Biz bad for the economy?”

  1. Marco Polo on July 25th, 2009 7:01 pm

    My favorite quote from the article: “Kadokura said if Japan wants its economy to grow at a time when its population is declining, it needs to boost productivity.”
    It may sound obvious, but who else is saying this? Everyone else is saying that to grow the economy, the government needs to throw taxpayers’ money at it and keep interest rates low.

  2. Ken Worsley on July 26th, 2009 8:28 am

    “It may sound obvious, but who else is saying this? ”

    Umm…everyone?

  3. Christopher Pellegrini on July 26th, 2009 2:12 pm

    I would love to hear how Tanabe came up with that 1.9%. Was he contrasting pre-Cool Biz productivity rates with those calculated since Koizumi allowed people to loosen their ties?

    Ken mentioned that Tanabe’s research was not detailed in the article, but do you think that he simply focused on a small set of businesses, or is he trying to make a blanket statement about Cool Biz’s influence on productivity nationwide?

    Any thoughts?

  4. Ken Worsley on July 27th, 2009 12:29 am

    Chris, that was one of the questions I had. Without seeing the methodology or an econometric model or something that has been replicated, it’s difficult to see where this 1.9% comes from. Thin air is the only explanation that makes sense.

    That said, Cool Biz is clearly a scam. Temperature and humidity have litle to do with one another, and Japan has fallen far short of it’s Kyoto goals. Japan has increased emissions despite having a falling population.

  5. Christopher Pellegrini on July 27th, 2009 7:18 pm

    This is my favorite line from the article:

    Sugiyama said the ministry has never received a complaint from a worker about the heat.

    Well, here’s their number:
    03-3581-3351

    And a way to send them your thoughts in writing:
    https://www.env.go.jp/en/moemail/

  6. Ken Worsley on July 27th, 2009 11:40 pm

    Why would anyone complain to the ministry anyway? Isn’t that like complaining to the Department of Education because your high school teacher isn’t that great?

  7. Ken Worsley on July 27th, 2009 11:42 pm

    Haha! I love that it’s called MOEMAIL! I know the MOE is for Ministry of Environment, but the double meaning is great.

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