This article reviews the evolution of the Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s monetary policy since 1999, with particular focus on policy measures adopted after the Lehman shock. The BOJ started the zero Interest ...rate policy In 1999, followed by the Introduction of quantitative easing In 2001 -06. After the global financial crisis, It Introduced a number of new policy Initiatives; some of them jointly with other central banks, others to combat deflation. Most recently, It embarked on a new policy framework of quantitative and qualitative monetary easing (QQE) In April 2013, and since then there have been favorable developments In economic activity and prices. Reprinted by permission of Fundación de las Cajas de Ahorros Confederadas
This article reviews the evolution of the Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s monetary policy since 1999, with particular focus on policy measures adopted after the Lehman shock. The BOJ started the zero Interest ...rate policy In 1999, followed by the Introduction of quantitative easing In 2001 -06. After the global financial crisis, It Introduced a number of new policy Initiatives; some of them jointly with other central banks, others to combat deflation. Most recently, It embarked on a new policy framework of quantitative and qualitative monetary easing (QQE) In April 2013, and since then there have been favorable developments In economic activity and prices.
Le fonctionnement du système financier peut avoir un impact décisif sur la croissance économique et sur la stabilité de l’économie. Il influe sur la croissance économique à long terme par son effet ...sur l’efficience de l’intermédiation entre épargnants et emprunteurs finaux ; par le degré auquel il permet une surveillance des utilisateurs de fonds externes, ce qui se répercute sur la productivité du capital utilisé ; enfin, par son incidence sur le volume de l’épargne, qui conditionne la capacité future de l’économie de générer des revenus. Le système financier agit sur la stabilité de l’économie en raison du fort pouvoir de levier de ses activités et de son rôle central dans le règlement de l’ensemble des transactions au sein de l’économie, de sorte que toute défaillance d’un segment risque de compromettre la stabilité du système dans son ensemble.
The operation of the financial system can have a key impact on economic growth and the stability of the economy. It affects long-term economic growth through its effect on the efficiency of ...intermediation between the savers and final borrowers of funds; through the extent to which it allows for monitoring of the users of external funds, affecting thereby the productivity of capital employed; and through its implications for the volume of saving, which influences the future income-generating capacity of the economy. It affects the stability of the economy because of the high degree of leverage of its activities and its pivotal role in the settlement of all transactions in the economy, so that any failure in one segment risks undermining the stability of the whole system.
Japan's Flow of Funds Accounts Statistics (J-FFA) is a comprehensive record of developments in financial assets and liabilities in major economic sectors. The main features of the J-FFA can be ...summarized as follows. First, the J-FFA shows both financial transactions and the corresponding balances outstanding of financial assets and liabilities. Second, as it is compiled in accordance with international standards, the J-FFA makes it possible to identify key features of financial activities in Japan by comparing them with those in other countries. Third, given that the J-FFA is divided into a large number of sub-categories for both transaction items and economic sectors, it can meet a variety of analytical needs of statistics users. In recent years, the Bank of Japan has been improving and enhancing the J-FFA. The amounts outstanding of securitized products have been released since December 2011, and "from-whom-to-whom" time-series data of domestic debt securities have been made available to the public since March 2012. The aim of these initiatives is to respond to the international awareness that existing data do not capture risks inherent in financial systems around the world; thus, it was deemed necessary to fill "data-gaps." The Bank of Japan aims to make further efforts to increase the usefulness of the J-FFA to a wide range of statistics users.
The agricultural sector in Canada is relatively large, compared to those in most other G7 countries. In recent years, the federal and provincial governments have undertaken a number of sectoral ...reforms to meet the competitiveness and environmental challenges that it faces. The federal government has tried to end a marketing monopoly in the barley market and may do so for wheat as well. The next generation of agriculture and agri-food policy is being finalised, and implementation of the first part of a new framework, Growing Forward, has begun. But a steady stream of ad hoc programmes in recent years has had significant budgetary costs and no doubt created moral hazard among farmers. There is scope for further liberalisation in supply-managed sectors, which are heavily protected and subsidised by consumers. Moreover, Canada’s bio-energy production, in particular the production of second-generation bio-ethanol (from cellulose), is under pressure in light of less costly bio-energy production overseas. Against this background, governments are striving to ensure the long-term viability of the sector. This Working Paper relates to the 2008 OECD Economic Survey of Canada (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/canada).Moderniser la politique agricole du CanadaLe Canada dispose d’un secteur agricole relativement important, par rapport à la plupart des autres pays du G7. Ces dernières années, des réformes ont été entreprises dans plusieurs domaines, au niveau fédéral et provincial, pour surmonter les problèmes de compétitivité et d’environnement auxquels est confrontée l’agriculture. Le gouvernement fédéral a tenté de mettre fin à un monopole sur la commercialisation de l’orge et pourrait envisager la même démarche pour le blé. La nouvelle politique agricole et agroalimentaire est en cours de finalisation et la mise en oeuvre de la première partie d’un nouveau cadre stratégique, Cultivons l'avenir, a commencé. Mais les programmes ad hoc qui se sont succédé depuis peu ont pesé lourdement sur le budget, non sans créer un aléa moral pour les agriculteurs. Il est possible d’aller plus loin dans la libéralisation des filières soumises à une gestion de l’offre, qui sont largement protégées et subventionnées par les consommateurs. Par ailleurs, la production canadienne de bioénergie, notamment de bioéthanol de seconde génération (à partir de cellulose), est concurrencée par une production bioénergétique étrangère moins coûteuse. C’est dans ce contexte que s’inscrivent les efforts déployés par les pouvoirs publics pour assurer la viabilité du secteur à long terme. Ce Document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’OCDE du Canada, 2008 (www.oecd.org/eco/etudes/canada).
The agricultural sector in Canada is relatively large, compared to those in most other G7 countries. In recent years, the federal and provincial governments have undertaken a number of sectoral ...reforms to meet the competitiveness and environmental challenges that it faces. The federal government has tried to end a marketing monopoly in the barley market and may do so for wheat as well. The next generation of agriculture and agri-food policy is being finalised, and implementation of the first part of a new framework, Growing Forward, has begun. But a steady stream of ad hoc programmes in recent years has had significant budgetary costs and no doubt created moral hazard among farmers. There is scope for further liberalisation in supply-managed sectors, which are heavily protected and subsidised by consumers. Moreover, Canada's bio-energy production, in particular the production of second-generation bio-ethanol (from cellulose), is under pressure in light of less costly bio-energy production overseas. Against this background, governments are striving to ensure the long-term viability of the sector. This Working Paper relates to the 2008 OECD Economic Survey of Canada (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/canada). PUBLICATION ABSTRACT