Abstract Japan went 15 years earlier than Europe through a boom-and-bust cycle in the real estate and stock markets … and recapitalization of financial institutions. Japan has reached the zero interest bound in 1999 and has accumulated a … very high public debt level. The paper compares the boom-and-bust cycles in Japan and Europe with respect to the reasons …

Japan's industrial and trade policies are often seen as the reason for high Japanese balance of trade surpluses. Does …