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New Paradigm in Macroeconomics: Solving the Riddle of Japanese Macroeconomic Performance
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- ISBN-101403920745
- ISBN-13978-1403920744
- PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
- Publication dateMarch 24, 2005
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions5.75 x 0.99 x 8.5 inches
- Print length435 pages
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It is clear that such a minor deviation from mainstream economics, doesn't constitute a paradigm shift. The book has largely been ignored by the profession. This is a pity, because the explanations hold for the continuing recession in the Eurozone.
The style of the book is both boring and aggressive, and the statistical method is poor. But it looks like the book give a good explanation for what happens with the Japanese economy.
The abandonment of credit controls with the advent of neoliberal ideology has meant that productive activity has been increasingly starved of funds to the benefit of the financial sector, also causing the latter to spiral out of control. We also learn why conventional fiscal policy cannot counter recessions. Unless new credit is created to finance it, all that happens is that investment funds are diverted from non-bank financial institutions. Werner points out that instead (and here he joins a long line of distinguished commentators) money can be created by the government, independently of the banking sector, interest-free. It can be literally spent into existence in the public interest.
These arguments are bolstered with convincing empirical analysis from Japan, where the author has worked in financial institutions. He therefore has an inside view on the money markets and can speak with an authority born of working knowledge, rather than, as is unfortunately the case with most academics, the armchair. The empirical story charts the housing bubble in Japan, the inevitable bust and then failed attempts to stimulate activity. Sounds familiar? There is political insight too, as we learn that the working practice of central banks differs from the ideology they publicly espouse. The current orthodoxy is exposed as effectively a facade behind which rentiers extort the rest of the population. Unusally for such a radical work, the statistical analysis will pass the exacting standards of even the pickiest academic economist. It's technical in parts but justifiably so, and repays the effort many times over. The technicalities refer to real world entities and processes, unlike those of conventional theory, which means that if you dig hard enough you will find your way through.
My one criticism of the book, and this may stem from the period in which most of the painstaking research was conducted, is that there is no link made between the financial crisis and the ecological crisis. It is therefore implicitly pro-growth, and does not speak to current concerns about either climate change or impending energy scarcity. However, Werner's suggestions for a more sane financial system would integrate well with a bona-fide 'green new deal.' Government money could finance programs of energy efficiency and renewables infrastructure, without interest rates imposing short-term time horizon inconsistent with sustainability.
Overall the book is easily of a sufficient quality and insight to cause it to be systematically ignored by the mainstream of the economics profession. I do hope this does not happen, and I'll be using it in my teaching for sure.


