Bank of Japan's Quantitative and Credit Easing

Bank of Japan's Quantitative and Credit Easing
Author: Mr.Ugo Fasano-Filho
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 17
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1475502478

This paper asks whether the BoJ's recent experience with unconventional monetary easing has been effective in supporting economic activity and inflation. Using a structural VAR model, the paper finds some evidence that BoJ's monetary policy measures during 1998-2010 have had an impact on economic activity but less so on inflation. These results are stronger than those in earlier studies looking at the quantitative easing period up to 2006 and may reflect more effective credit channel as a result of improvements in the banking and corporate sectors. Nevertheless, the relative contribution of monetary policy measures to the variation in output and inflation is rather small.

Size and Composition of the Central Bank Balance Sheet

Size and Composition of the Central Bank Balance Sheet
Author: Shigenori Shiratsuka
Publisher:
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2009
Genre: Banks and banking, Central
ISBN:

"This paper re-examines Japan's experience of the quantitative easing policy in light of the policy responses against the current financial and economic crisis. Central banks use various unconventional measures in the range of financial assets being purchased and in the scale of such purchases. As the scope of such unconventional measures expands, it is often emphasized that the U.S. Federal Reserve policy reactions focus more on the asset side of its balance sheet, the so-called credit easing . By contrast, the Bank of Japan's quantitative easing policy from 2001 to 2006 set a target for the current account balances, the liability side of its balance sheet. It is crucial to understand that central banks combine the two elements of their balance sheets, size and composition, to enhance the overall effects of unconventional policy measures, given constraints on policy implementation.--Author's abstract.

Bank of Japan'S Monetary Easing Measures

Bank of Japan'S Monetary Easing Measures
Author: Mr.Waikei W. Lam
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 20
Release: 2011-11-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1463924631

With policy rates near the zero bound, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has introduced a series of unconventional monetary easing measures since late 2009 in response to lingering deflation and a weakening economy. These measures culminated in a new Asset Purchase Program under the Comprehensive Monetary Easing (CME) which differs from typical quantitative easing in other central banks by including purchases of risky asset in an effort to reduce term and risk premia. This note assesses the impact of monetary easing measures on financial markets using an event study approach. It finds that the BoJ's monetary easing measures has had a statistically significant impact on lowering bond yields and improving equity prices, but no notable impact on inflation expectations.

Japanese Monetary Policy

Japanese Monetary Policy
Author: Kenneth J. Singleton
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2007-12-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0226760685

How has the Bank of Japan (BOJ) helped shape Japan's economic growth during the past two decades? This book comprehensively explores the relations between financial market liberalization and BOJ policies and examines the ways in which these policies promoted economic growth in the 1980s. The authors argue that the structure of Japan's financial markets, particularly restrictions on money-market transactions and the key role of commercial banks in financing corporate investments, allowed the BOJ to influence Japan's economic success. The first two chapters provide the most in-depth English-language discussion of the BOJ's operating procedures and policymaker's views about how BOJ actions affect the Japanese business cycle. Chapter three explores the impact of the BOJ's distinctive window guidance policy on corporate investment, while chapter four looks at how monetary policy affects the term structure of interest rates in Japan. The final two chapters examine the overall effect of monetary policy on real aggregate economic activity. This volume will prove invaluable not only to economists interested in the technical operating procedures of the BOJ, but also to those interested in the Japanese economy and in the operation and outcome of monetary reform in general.

Unconventional Monetary Policy in Practice. A Comparison of 'Quantitative Easing' in Japan and the USA

Unconventional Monetary Policy in Practice. A Comparison of 'Quantitative Easing' in Japan and the USA
Author: Matthias Reith
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 111
Release: 2015-09-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 364047404X

Diploma Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Economics - Finance, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: In the current economic and financial crisis, many western central banks introduced “unconventional” monetary policy measures, commonly referred to as “Quantitative Easing (QE)”. However, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) already applied QE between 2001 and 2006. This lead many commentators to make oversimplifying comparisons between the BoJ’s QE approach (2001-2006) and current implementations of QE by other central banks. In particular, this diploma thesis tries to examine the differences between BoJ-type QE and Fedtype QE. It turns out that both approaches differ fundamentally from each other on various grounds: The primary aim of QE in Japan was fighting deflation, whereas the American central bank addresses mostly strains in the banking system. Concerning the concrete measures, one can say that QE by the BoJ consisted to a good deal of active QE in terms of outright purchases of Japanese government securities (JGBs), whereas the Fed currently follows a somewhat broader approach: Since interbank markets are not functioning as desired, it tries to engage with as many market participants as direct as possible. Therefore the Fed has introduced a much broader range of new instruments than its Japanese counterpart did between 2001 and 2006. As a result, the Fed’s balance sheet expansion was considerably larger than the one in Japan.

Princes of the Yen

Princes of the Yen
Author: Richard Werner
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2015-03-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 131746219X

This eye-opening book offers a disturbing new look at Japan's post-war economy and the key factors that shaped it. It gives special emphasis to the 1980s and 1990s when Japan's economy experienced vast swings in activity. According to the author, the most recent upheaval in the Japanese economy is the result of the policies of a central bank less concerned with stimulating the economy than with its own turf battles and its ideological agenda to change Japan's economic structure. The book combines new historical research with an in-depth behind-the-scenes account of the bureaucratic competition between Japan's most important institutions: the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan. Drawing on new economic data and first-hand eyewitness accounts, it reveals little known monetary policy tools at the core of Japan's business cycle, identifies the key figures behind Japan's economy, and discusses their agenda. The book also highlights the implications for the rest of the world, and raises important questions about the concentration of power within central banks.

History of Bank of Japan's More Than Two Decades of Unconventional Monetary Easing with Special Emphasis on the Frameworks Pursued in the Last 10 Years

History of Bank of Japan's More Than Two Decades of Unconventional Monetary Easing with Special Emphasis on the Frameworks Pursued in the Last 10 Years
Author: Pawel Kowalewski
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre:
ISBN:

Low inflation hit the Japanese economy shortly after the burst of the bubble in stocks and real estate in 1991 and has haunted the domestic economy ever since. The bubbles were partly attributable to prolonged monetary easing in the second half of 1980s, which was conducted to increase domestic demand and mitigate the recession induced by the appreciation of the Japanese yen. Furthermore, the country was adversely affected by US pressure to reduce trade deficits and resolve the prolonged trade dispute. In the early 1990s, Japan faced sluggish economic growth and low inflation, as well as severe structural financial and corporate sector balance sheet problems. Reflecting global trends regarding providing central banks with operational independence and the lessons learnt from Japan's bubble experience, meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) was granted independence under the new 1997 Bank of Japan Act. Japan's economic problems starting from the 1980s also coincided with the period when the global Great Moderation was only it its early stages. The newly independent BOJ, in order not to put its credibility at risk, opted for cautiousness, which proved to be excessive. Not only was there a reversal in the August 2000 rate increase, but the BOJ also launched an unprecedented monetary experiment in 2001 called Quantitative Easing Policy. Moving the main operational target from short-term interest rates to current account balances at the BOJ and supplying sufficient liquidity beyond the required reserves was a milestone in the history of central banking. This shift was accompanied by subsequent novel monetary easing policies that were pursued over the last 20 years. Ever since, the BOJ has become not only a pioneer in pursuing unconventional monetary policies, but also a reference point for other central banks. At this stage, it is difficult to judge the effectiveness and efficiency of the BOJ's policy tools, as achievement of inflation beyond the 2% price stability target since last year is clouded by doubts regarding its sustainability. This paper provides a detailed description of the BOJ's policy, especially under Haruhiko Kuroda's 10-year governorship.

Japan's Great Stagnation

Japan's Great Stagnation
Author: Michael M. Hutchison
Publisher: CESifo Seminar
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2006
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Experts on the Japanese economy examine Japan's prolonged period of economic underperformance, analyzing the ways in which the financial system, monetary policy, and international financial factors contributed to its onset and duration. After experiencing spectacular economic growth and industrial development for much of the postwar era, Japan plunged abruptly into recession in the early 1990s and since then has suffered a prolonged period of economic stagnation, from which it is only now emerging. Japan's malaise, marked by recession or weak economic activity, commodity and asset price deflation, banking failures, increased bankruptcies, and rising unemployment, has been the most sustained economic downturn seen in the industrial world since the 1930s. In Japan's Great Stagnation, experts on the Japanese economy consider key questions about the causes and effects of Japan's prolonged period of economic underperformance and what other advanced economies might learn from Japan's experience. They focus on aspects of the financial and banking system that have contributed to economic stagnation, the role of monetary policy, and the importance of international financial factors--in particular, the exchange rate and the balance of payments. Among the topics discussed are bank fragility and the inaccuracy of measuring it by the "Japan premium," the consequences of weak banking regulation, the controversial policy of "quantitative easing," and the effectiveness of currency devaluation for fighting deflation. Taken together, the contributions demonstrate the importance of a sound financial sector in fostering robust growth and healthy economies--and the enormous economic costs of a dysfunctional financial system. Contributors Yoichi Arai, Robert Dekle, Zekeriya Eser, Eiji Fujii, Kimie Harada, Takeo Hoshi, Michael M. Hutchison, Takatoshi Ito, Ken Kletzer, Nikolas Müller-Plantenberg, Kunio Okina, Joe Peek, Eric S. Rosengren, Shigenori Shiratsuka, Mark M. Spiegel, Frank Westermann, Nobuyoshi Yamori

Quantitative Easing and Its Impact in the US, Japan, the UK and Europe

Quantitative Easing and Its Impact in the US, Japan, the UK and Europe
Author: Kjell Hausken
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2013-12-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1461496462

This volume empirically analyzes the effects of quantitative easing (QE) on interest rates and the economy in the US, Japan, UK and Europe. Using an event-study methodology, the authors find that the measures undertaken by the Federal Reserve and Bank of England, which focus primarily on bond purchases, are much more effective in lowering interest rates than those undertaken by the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank, which have relied more heavily on lending to private financial institutions. Using large Bayesian vector autoregression (BVAR) models they also analyze the impact of QE on the wider economy. They produce no-QE counterfactual forecasts that are compared with their corresponding baseline forecasts, incorporating the effects of QE on government bond spreads. Despite the failure of stimulating economic activities as a whole, the simulation results suggest that the unconventional monetary policies have a positive influence on industrial production in the US, UK and Japan. The authors’ analysis finds that QE contributes to the reduction in unemployment in the US and Japan, and a rise in inflation-expectations in the US, UK and Euro zone. However, evidence on QE’s effect on house prices, stock prices, consumer confidence, and exchange rate, is mixed and thus inconclusive.