Report
Patrick Artus

Has Japan’s complete lack of economic policy conservatism brought about serious consequences?

For 20 years, Japan has conducted: A highly expansionary fiscal policy, leading to an extremely high public debt; A highly expansionary monetary policy, with interest rates remaining at zero and the continuous expansion of the size of the central bank’s balance sheet. Has this rejection of conservatism brought about serious consequences? There is no visible bubble in equities or in real estate prices; There is no inflation; There are no abnormal capital outflows and the exchange rate has not collapsed ; Private sector debt has not risen. So there have been no serious consequences. But one should not forget that in Japan: The flexibilisation of the labour market prevents wage increases and inflation; The drastic crisis of 1990 drove up risk aversion and made the Japanese cautious about debt and bubbles; A strong preference for yen-denominated assets prevents capital outflows.
Provider
Natixis
Natixis

Based across the world’s leading financial centers, Natixis CIB Research offers an integrated view of the markets. The team provides support to inform Natixis clients’ investment and hedging decisions across all asset classes.

 

Analysts
Patrick Artus

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