Restoring Japan's Economic Growth (Policy Analyses in International Economics) | 
 enlarge | Author: Adam S. Posen
Publisher: Peterson Institute
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
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Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 889663
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 180
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.4
ISBN: 0881322628
Dewey Decimal Number: 336.30952
EAN: 9780881322620
ASIN: 0881322628
Publication Date: September 1, 1998
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Product Description
Will the Japanese government take the decisive but manageable policy actions needed to bring about economic recovery? Criticism of current Japanese macroeconomic and financial policies is so widespread that the reasons for it are assumed to be self-evident. In this volume, Adam Posen explains in depth why a shift in Japanese fiscal and monetary policies, as well as financial reform, would be in Japan's own self-interest. He demonstrates that Japanese economic stagnation in the 1990s is the result of mistaken policies of fiscal austerity and financial laissez-faire rather than any supposed structural failures of the "Japan Model". The author outlines a program for putting the country back on the path to solid economic growth -- primarily through permanent tax cuts and monetary stabilization -- and draws broader lessons to be learned from recent Japanese policy actions that led to country's continuing stagnation. The book will be a useful supplementary text for both under-and post-graduate level courses in macroeconomics, comparative political economy, Japan or East Asian studies, public finance, and international relations. Restoring Japan's Economic Growth has been translated into Japanese by Toyo Keizei (Tokyo).
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 Keynes is alive and well and living in Japan October 12, 2001
This is an excellent little book. Posen, an increasingly influential monetary economist, gives us his view on what is wrong and what needs to be done in Japan. While this effort was published in late 1998, the diagnosis and medication prescribed are the same now as then. In Posen's view, all but one of the economic stimulus packages unveiled in the 1990s was equivalent to pouring money down the drain. Government money either wasn't spent at all because regional and municipal governments are bust or money was thrust at wasteful construction industries which add nothing to GDP. Also, monetary policymakers have decided that their new independence means they should do exactly the opposite to what everyone outside the BOJ thinks they should do. So policy is in a state of paralysis. Posen argues that Japan needs aggressive stimulus, both through fiscal and monetary policy channels. In his view, there is nothing terribly wrong with Japan - a very different view from consensus. He also shows that BOJ fears of igniting inflation if they loosen monetary policy aggressively are complete nonsense. This isn't a happy read for amateurs. It's quite in depth and needs some knowledge of the dismal science. It's very mainstream or Keynesian, just in case you were wondering. But it's a good read nonetheless.
 Detailed and Relevant July 24, 1999
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Posen does a good job of presenting his case that the Japanese recession can be alleviated through the effective use of fiscal policy. He supports his argument well by employing statistical evidence and economic tools. I believe, however, that Posen fails to address the psychological effect the current recession is having on the Japanese government & people. Structural Reform is being instituted rapidly because stagnation has brought about the realization that the current system needs serious overhaul. It also seems to be the case that fiscal policy needlessly pours money into the inefficient construction sector, leading to undesirable consequences in terms of sectoral allocation. Overall, Posen makes a strong argument in favor of fiscal policy. Hopefully he will update his book to explain the current apparent recovery of the Japanese economy.
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