Has Japan since the late 1990s shown that economic cycles can disappear?
Since the late 1990s, Japan has been characterised by : Low inflation and very low interest rates, which have prevented cycles linked to a restrictive monetary policy; Household and corporate deleveraging, which has prevented excessive debt crises; Falling asset prices until 2012 (equity valuation and real estate prices), which have prevent ed the bursting of bubbles. It seems that the characteristics of Japan since the late 1990s are now becoming those of all OECD countries. Have they prevented economic cycles and recessions in Japan? If the answer is yes, we can also hope for an end to recessions in OECD countries as a whole . But unfortunately, and oddly enough, the answer is no.