I have been thinking about the recent inflation trajectory in Japan in the light of constant calls from mainstream economists (including a bevy of private bank economists who work for institutions that benefit from interest rate hikes) for the Bank of Japan to hike rates. What is driving CPI movements? What has been the impact…
inflation
Jan 23, 2026 I The economics of John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) was built on his philosophy. Economics was the means to the good life, not the good life itself. Keynes’s own genius was practical, and so both his temperament and the events of his time conspired to keep him anchored in the realm of means. … Continue reading Keynes and Money, or Where Has All the Money Gone?
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) increased the policy rate by 0.25 points on Tuesday and claimed that it was because the inflationary outlook was in danger of accelerating out of control as a result of excessive demand pressures. This followed last week’s CPI release which showed the December increase to be 0.96 points. When…
Last Friday (December 5, 2025), I filmed an extended discussion with my Kyoto University colleague, Professor Fujii about a range of issues concerning the Japanese and Global economy. Once it is edited, the video will be available on YouTube. Fujii-sensei is advising the new Japanese Prime Minister and is the author of the ‘Responsible proactive…
In an early blog post – Inflation targeting spells bad fiscal policy (October 15, 2009) – I outlined prior research that I had done on the issue of inflation targetting (IT). In my 2008 book with Joan Muysken – Full Employment abandoned – we provided further analysis on the issue. We found that there was…
This will be a series of blog posts where I analysis the period ahead for Japan under the new LDP leadership of Ms Sanae Takaichi. The motivation is that on November 7, 2025, the research group I am working with at Kyoto University will be staging a major event at the Diet (Parliament) Building in…
Central banks around the world tightened interest rates starting late 2021 in some places and there was a systematic period of hikes over the next year or more despite the inflationary pressures mostly showing signs of abatement as a result of factors that were not sensitive to the rising interest rates. In Australia, the RBA…
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest – Consumer Price Index, Australia – for the June-quarter 2025 today (July 30, 2025). The quarterly data showed that the inflation rate rose by 0.7 points in the quarter but over the 12 months and on an annual basis fell from 2.4 per cent to 2.1…
Once again the Reserve Bank of Australia has gone rogue. On Tuesday (July 8, 2025), it held its cash rate target (the interest rate that expresses its monetary policy stance) constant at 3.85 per cent despite all the indicators suggesting that it would cut that target rate. The financial markets are in uproar because they…
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest CPI data yesterday (June 26, 2025) – Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator – for May 2025, which showed that the annual underlying inflation rate, which excludes volatile items continues to fall – from 2.4 per cent to 2.1 per cent. The trimmed mean rate (which the…