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S0610 The Great Depression and the Great Stagnation: Two Economic Crises Compared

The long stagnation of the Japanese economy from the early 90s to the present has received a great attention. Although the current recovery seems to be making this stagnation as an episode in the past, it still remains as a valuable case to be examined for economists and policymakers alike. Why has Japan, the world\'s second largest advanced economy, stagnated for so long a time? And more importantly, what are the possible lessons for the future? This course explores the causes of, and remedies for, this \'Great Stagnation\'.\r\n

The unique feature of this course is to combine an interest in the current economic crisis with historical analysis, paying special attention to another deflationary economic crisis, i.e. the Great Depression during the 1930s.

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Teaching and evaluation method
The course consists of lectures, and presentation and discussion by students on the materials; the latter component will be larger if the class size is small.

\r\nRequirements
A working knowledge of intermediate economics. If a student is not sure about the requirement, consult intermediate textbooks, such as Gregory Mankiw (2002), Macroeconomics, Fifth edition, Worth Publishers (not to be confused with his introductory textbook). A familiarity with the Japanese economy, and economic history during the Inter-war period would be helpful, but not required .