Tag Archives: government stimulus

Japan’s post-1989 experience provides a long-running case study on the limits of monetary and fiscal stimulus. After the collapse of a combined equity and property bubble, Japan relied on sustained deficits, near-zero interest rates, and repeated stimulus to stabilize growth. While markets eventually recovered in nominal terms, the process took decades and coincided with a sharp rise in government debt. In 2026, rising bond yields and higher debt servicing costs are testing the durability of this approach. The Japanese experience offers a relevant framework for assessing similar policy paths now being followed globally.

Countering Krugman’s argument that today’s low interest rates show that no one is worried about lending money to us and, therefore, that we should borrow and spend our way to prosperity, Ferguson argues that today’s interest rates are irrelevant. When countries get into trouble, he says, they get into trouble quickly – the way Greece and other European countries have. Taking …