In this groundbreaking book,
leading international economist, Richard Koo argues that far from being the sick man of
Asia, Japan is suffering from a temporary but highly unusual economic aberration.
Economists and business
commentators have always assumed that the majority of companies in any economy are forward
looking and are trying to maximize profits. They never considered the possibility that a
vast majority of companies may be placing their highest priorities on minimizing debt in
order to repair their balance sheets. But that remote possibility has been the reality in
Japan for the past decade, and more recently in many other countries including at least a
part of the US.
Balance Sheet Recession
argues that contrary to popular belief, it is this massive shift in corporate behavior,
instead of structural problems, that is the root cause of both the deflation and the
non-performing loan problems that have troubled Japan for so long. It argues that when the
causality runs from the corporate balance sheet problems to deflation and banking
problems, a highly unconventional policy response is needed to stabilize the economy.
After all, the last time anything similar has happened was the 1930s in the US.
Richard Koo's experience in
dealing with both the US banking crisis of the early 1980s and the Japanese balance sheet
and banking problems of the last ten years makes him unique qualified to comment on this
situation. He clearly explains how such a recession can happen in any economy following an
asset price bubble, and how best to deal with it.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements.
Introduction.
1. The Japanese Economy in
Balance Sheet Recession.Â
2. Fiscal Stimulus Essential
in Overcoming Balance Sheet Recession.
3. Monetary Policy
Ineffective in Today's Japan.
4. Conditions for Recovery.
5. The Missing Link in
Macroeconomics.
6. Haste Ill-Advised in
Disposing Non-Performing Loans.
7. Understanding the
Misunderstandings: The Real Story.
8. Four Kinds of Banking
Crises and the Role of the Blanket Guarantee.
9. Real Challenges Facing
Asian Economies.
10. Japan's Lessons for the
U.S. Economy.
11. Real Challenges Facing
Japan.
Appendix 1: Summary of
Balance Sheet Recession.
Appendix
2: Revisiting Money Supply, High-Powered Money and Money Multiplier.
284 pages