Should the Bank of Japan Raise Interest Rates? by Koichi Hamada
At the beginning of 2013, when “Abenomics” was rolled out in Japan, the yen was significantly overvalued, and looser monetary policy was badly needed. Today, the opposite is true, indicating that interest-rate hikes may well be the right prescription for Japan.
TOKYO—In my early years as an economics professor, I was occasionally asked to present my work to a group of international economists, and several times I was lucky enough to do so at a beautiful site overlooking Lake Geneva. One economist—quiet, thoughtful, not at all antagonistic—always appeared at those presentations, and even met me for breakfast in New York City. His name was Scott Bessent, currently Secretary of the United States Treasury under President Donald Trump.
