Summary: In a previous article I listed the powerful tools the US government would deploy during the next recession. Today we discuss something more important: will they work? We can look to Japan for an answer. Their great stagnation began with the 1989 crash, 11 years before the tech bubble burst and began America’s new era. Japan took fiscal and monetary policy to the outer limits. Now it’s in a recession. Although our circumstances differ, we’re following in their tracks.
“Keiki Kaifuku, Kono Michi Shika Nai” (“Economic Recovery,
There Is No Road But This”).
— LDP Campaign Slogan, December 2014. If only this were true.
As Richard Koo predicted, during the Great Recession America repeated Japan’s mistakes during its “lost decade”. That’s the bad news. The good news is that America climbed into a slow recovery after the worst downturn since the 1930s. The worse news is that another recession lies ahead. Potentially a bad one, with both the world economy and many domestic sectors weak. The government will deploy powerful tools to fight this downturn. How well will they work? Look to Japan for answers…
