Japan's lost decade / Hiroshi Yoshikawa ; translated by Charles H. Stewart

Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-263) and index

Macroeconomic analysis of the 1990s. High growth in the past -- The 1990s -- Demand or supply? -- What type of demand? -- The "abnormality" of demand fluctuations -- Investment -- Investment to increase production capacity, and stock adjustment -- The recovery of 1995-1996 -- The fiscal policy error of 1997 -- The prolonged consumption slump -- Bad debts and the Japanese economy. Money supply and the credit crunch -- The bubble and bad debts : banks -- The bubble and bad debts : firms -- The background to the real estate boom -- Monetary policy and prudential policy -- The credit crunch of 1997-1998 -- Exchange rates. The fixed exchange rate system and the floating exchange rate system -- The determination of foreign exchange rates : short-run, mid-run, and long-run -- Purchasing power parity -- The pre-war Japanese economy -- The appreciation of the yen over the past 25 years -- Theories blaming the high yen for Japan's economic doldrums -- Japan's manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries. Small and medium firms, and the self-employed -- An historical turning-point -- The agriculture -- Structural stagnation -- The labor market in the "ice age." Japan's rising unemployment rate -- The mismatch in labor market -- Labor mobility -- Underemployment -- The risk of falling into a deflationary spiral -- The aging of society and fiscal policy. Ill-advised fiscal reconstruction -- The alleged burden of debt -- The national burden ratio -- The social security -- Structural reform -- The future. Has Japan's potential growth rate actually declined? -- Demand and economic growth. The Japanese economy of the 1990s. What must be done? -- Japan's lost decade : what have we learned and where are we heading? Introduction. The Japanese economy of the 1990s. Macroeconomic policies. Fiscal policy. Monetory policy. Japan's potential growth : The importance of demand-creating innovation. Conclusion