Few will argue against the view that price stability plays an important role in promoting medium- to long-term economic growth. However, a consensus has yet to be gained as to how we should define price stability in the context of monetary policy operations and a desirable rate of inflation. In...

This article examines the problems inherent in quality changes/new goods bias in the Consumer Price Index, using the Japanese case as an example. The author proposes a practical way to improve the accuracy of quality adjustments by introducing the hedonic approach to the conventional procedure.

In this paper, we explore the effects of the Bank of Japan's ( BOJ's) policy commitment under zero interest rates on the economy, by considering the transmission channel of altering private-sector expectations. To that end, we carry out a structural vector autoregression analysis on...

This paper re-examines Japanfs experience of the quantitative easing policy in light of the policy responses against the current financial and economic crisis. Central banks use various unconventional measures in the range of financial assets being purchased and in the scale of such purchases....