The Japanese Economy

4 Credits.

The course analyzes Japan’s transformation into a leading global economic power, followed by the “lost decades”. Japan’s aging and shrinking population has become a key challenge for the country’s future. Achieving the government’s objective of reversing the decline in the fertility rate will require a range of policy reforms and social changes, including encouraging greater employment of women, older persons and foreign workers. Reforms are also needed to better leverage Japan’s outstanding educational results and high levels of R&D and patent activity to raise labor productivity. Improved corporate is needed to revitalize the corporate sector. At the same time, Japan’s reliance on energy-intensive industries and fossil fuels make achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 a difficult challenge. Sustained economic growth is essential to boost living standards and reduce Japan’s exceptionally high government debt ratio. The course will compare the Japanese economy to other advanced countries, notably the United States, the European Union and South Korea.