Week 4 Blog

Welcome back once again! Over the past week I have continued to do research and have also re-evaluated the goals of my project. I have continued to read Bill Mitchell and Thomas Fazi’s 2017 book “Reclaiming the State” . The book goes far in depth about the history of the macroeconomic battle in several western states. It covers the devolution of conversation in regards to monetary policy and showcases how we have lost the debate in favor of an outcome that pits the government strongly in the corner of the wealthy and powerful. In reading this I have become reminded of just how important it is to understand the prominence of monetary policy in people’s lives. Government’s ability and willingness to spend currency impacts billions of people constantly. 

In doing this research I have decided to refocus my project to focus on an evaluation and comparison of the monetary policy of several states over the past few years especially during the Covid-19 Pandemic. In specific I will be comparing how Japan and other modern states differ and their approach to government spending. Japan has been steadfast in their position over the past few years as they have continued to spend and devalue the Yen in order to continue various government programs throughout the pandemic and into the post pandemic era. Japan has maintained high spending and low interest rates in the face of countries like the United States and Australia which have been willing to raise interest rates and have been less willing to maintain their own spending power or utilize the government’s full capability. Mainstream economics has remained critical of Japan yet there has been no major downturn for the Japanese people, relative salaries have not decreased, exports have increased. My final paper will focus on this comparison and take a look at the way that we evaluate national economics. 

Thank you for reading and I will keep you updated next week.