She was also the first woman to publish in the American Economic Review (the second undergraduate student, after Robert Heibroner's first publication over 25 years prior).
Nakamura et al. conclude that the characteristics of the retailer are key in pricing dynamics and thereby emphasise on the importance of using such a large sample size.
However, Nakamura et al. suggest that in order to solve the chain drift problem, drift-free indexes such as those used in Germany, Italy or Spain should be used.
Other workers may also lose their jobs at competitive companies as Wal-Mart continues to expand, which is another reason for the decline in wholesale employees.
Wal-Mart also benefits from receiving discounted shipping rates, and possibly special prices from producers, which decreases its unit input costs to below those of its competitors.
Nevertheless, they note that Wal-Mart has made major jumps toward higher productivity, and are now benefiting from this by carrying a large percentage of the retail market share in both, the US and Canada.
Since 1990, Japan has been in a long recession, characterised by its inability to redirect capital towards increasing productivity and high unemployment rates.
Therefore, it has been difficult for Japan to compete with US and European firms, who through trade agreements such as NAFTA and the EU have gained the comparative advantage in the production of many goods.
Nakamura sheds light on Japan's ageing population which in theory should reduce unemployment rates but in reality increases taxes paid by, and number of people outside the workforce supported by workers.
The Japanese work culture is characterised by lifetime employment, which leads to high investment in human capital, multi-task skills within the firm and minimum concern about job loss.
This is because firms generally do not consider hiring those in the middle of their careers, and women therefore often do not return to the workforce after bearing children because they are unable to find a job.
Where the United States have taken steps to decrease discrimination towards female workers, Nakamura believes that Japan has not paid sufficient attention to this issue.