Parallels Between US and Japanese Economies

In the video below, Marshall Auerback gives a even-handed analysis of the parallels between the US and Japan on Fox Business with Brian Sullivan.

Demographic trends, GDP trends and deleveraging trends are all similar. But, Marshall goes further by pointing to the misallocation of fiscal resources, the emergence of crony capitalism and the likelihood of zombie banking which he saw in Japan and is seeing now in the U.S.

Another similarity is low interest rates. One issue Marshall didn’t take on when asked about low interest rates by Brian is how this policy not only reduces the cost of capital, but also decreases investment returns, encouraging the carry trade and excessive risk.

When looking at how we are avoiding the mistakes of Japan, I didn’t find the arguments as convincing because it’s early days yet. But, there is hope.

The segment runs just over 5 minutes.

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