A Welfare Cost of the Lost Decade in Japan

This paper measures the welfare cost of the Japanese economy in a elost decadef from 1990 to 2002, by using panels of different consumer groups. This paper finds that the costs for consumers in the lower and middle income quintiles and in urban districts are much higher, while it is a benefit for consumer in rural districts. This paper suggests that such cost disparities express the defects related to districts and income quintile group with high costs. Also, there exist consumers feeling this stagnation to be costless and the seriousness of stagnation are not recognized unanimously.