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The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics

Lessons from Japan's Great Recession
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics offers a revised analysis of Japan's 15-year recession and its broader implications for economic theory and policy. Richard C. Koo introduces the concept of yin and yang business cycles, contrasting the conventional profit-maximising 'yang' with the 'yin' of balance sheet recessions, where firms focus on debt reduction. This framework challenges and extends traditional macroeconomic thought, proposing a comprehensive theory to better understand prolonged economic downturns.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for students and professionals in economics, policymakers, and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of macroeconomic theory and long-term recession dynamics, particularly in the context of Japan and comparable economies.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The revised edition of this highly acclaimed work presents crucial lessons from Japan's recession that could aid the US and other economies as they struggle to recover from the current financial crisis. This book is about Japan's 15-year long recession and how it affected current theoretical thinking about its causes and cures.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The revised edition of this highly acclaimed work presents crucial lessons from Japan's recession that could aid the US and other economies as they struggle to recover from the current financial crisis.

This book is about Japan's 15-year long recession and how it affected current theoretical thinking about its causes and cures. It includes a detailed explanation of what happened to Japan, but the discoveries made are so far-reaching that a large portion of economics literature will have to be modified to accommodate another half to the macroeconomic spectrum of possibilities that conventional theorists have overlooked.

The author developed the idea of yin and yang business cycles where the conventional world of profit maximisation is the yang and the world of balance sheet recession, where companies are minimising debt, is the yin. Once so divided, many varied theories developed in macroeconomics since the 1930s can be nicely categorised into a single comprehensive theoryโ€”The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Reviews from the previous edition: The book is praised for its fascinating insights into Japan's economic struggles and provides a unique perspective on global financial crises. The Financial Times lauded it as a brilliant resource for understanding risks of prolonged economic weakness, while USA Today called it the definitive account of Japan's recession. Survival commended Richard Koo's balanced and detailed analysis stemming from his close viewpoint within Japan's economic landscape.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780470824948

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 14 July 2009

Country: United States

Imprint: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Edition: Revised Edition

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 226.0mm

Weight: 454g

Pages: 352

About the Author

Richard C. Koo is the Chief Economist of Nomura Research Institute, the research arm of Nomura Securities, the leading securities house in Japan. Consistently voted as one of the most reliable economists by Japanese capital and financial market participants for nearly a decade, he has also advised successive prime ministers on how best to deal with Japan's economic and banking problems. He served as an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and was a Doctoral Fellow of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Author of many books, including Balance Sheet Recession: Japan's Struggle with Uncharted Economics and its Global Implications, and a visiting professor of Waseda University, he was awarded the Abramson Award by the National Association of Business Economics, Washington, D.C. in 2001.

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