Narratives that portray macroeconomic policies in Japan as unlike ones pursued in other large economies persist. I revisit how several factors, including monetary, fiscal, and demographic factors impact Japan, the US, and the euro area. Panel VARs driven by factors or observed macroeconomic...

Doubts continue to be expressed about the net benefits of announcing an explicit inflation objective versus a more balanced set of goals that include an overt concern over real economic developments. This is true even if major central banks that do not explicitly target inflation (e.g., the US...