Lost Decade, Redux
By general consensus, Japan’s “Lost Decade” (now in its Third Decade) begins in 1989.
The biggest growth difference appears to come from the U.S. period from the Second (1996) Clinton Tax Reform to the 2001 recession—a big if, I grant you, but one that the Gingrich/DeLay-led Republican Party predicted would produce mayhem, and the alternative-history is not difficult to imagine—I’m having trouble seeing where the losses are. Especially if you consider that much of that time was spent investing in increased infrastructure improvements and health care that have the country well-positioned going forward.
Testing
You mean the same period that the Internet boom occurred. Must have been Clinton economics that drove that innovation and bubble. Thanks for clearing things up
Yer losing me here. Trouble seeing where Japan’s losses are? I’m guessing, cause the stuff about Clinton’s tax hike draws the attention to US growth. I’m just not sure what point you are trying to make.
Lark, the internet boom was not a US-only event. The fact that the internet boom was was no respecter of borders is pretty deadly to your argument, unless Japan had a tax hike of similar magnitude to that in the US or greater. The chart works very well as evidence that the Clinton boom was not just the internet. The US grew better than Japan – both technologically sophisticated economies with very good access to world markets and to capital, and the US grrew faster than Japan. One possible explanation is that policy in the US was better than in Japan.
Ya want to be careful parroting tired old “gotcha” talking points. Your timing really couldn’t have been much worse, given the chart in front of you.