Matthew Poggi (Mansfield Fellow 2009-2011, U.S. Department of Treasury) and Kouhei Otsuka, member of Japan’s House of Councilors and former DPJ senior vice minister, have written a book in which they engage in a broad debate on many of the key contemporary political and economic issues confronting Japan and the United States, as well as several challenges faced by the international community. Looking back more than thirty years, the two discuss: how Japan never was able to achieve “number one” status; Japan’s “lost decade;” and the more recent popular call for “change” in both Japan and the United States. They also examine the rise of the so-called BRICs economies, the growing leadership role of the G-20 and its likely impact on the two countries and their partnership.
The former central bankers look for lessons in the monetary and fiscal policy choices made before and after Japan’s collapsed asset price bubble to help frame an evaluation of the build-up and response to the most recent global financial crisis. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and financial instability in Europe, the authors assess the prospects for the Japanese, U.S. and global economy.
The book can be purchased here.