Public Policies and the Japanese Economy

by Toshiaki Tachibanaki

The purpose of this book is to examine the relationship between public policies and the economy in Japan in many fields. Public policies include tax policy, regulation, macroeconomic policy and labour policy. The book aims to find which public policies were effective for achieving the relatively better macroeconomic performance in the Japanese economy, and which were not. Savings, portfolio choice, housing, investment, cost of capital, taxes, unemployment, wages and inequality are covered, with particular emphasis on the evaluation of the two factor markets - namely, the capital and labour markets - in Japan. Special attention is paid to the examination of the effect of public policies on efficiency and equity, normally interacting in a trade-off relationship.