日本学者关于本国通货紧缩问题研究述评

A Review of the Japanese Studies on Japan's Deflation

2002年初始日本经济走出低迷,但时至今日通货紧缩却一直与其相伴随。日本学者对其进行了深入研究,所涉及的问题包括:关于通货紧缩概念的界定标准,涉及是否应将经济低迷纳入其中。关于通货紧缩的成因,在需求方面涉及泡沫经济的后遗症、通货紧缩预期和工资持续下降等;在供给方面涉及日本的规制改革和技术进步、国际分工中的低工资压力和经常项目顺差所造成的日元升值等。关于通货紧缩的机理,学者们援引马克思、凯恩斯和哈耶克等经典理论对其进行了说明。关于通货紧缩的影响,涉及对实体经济的危害、代际之间收入转移弊端和就业环境恶化等。关于通货紧缩的治理,涉及加强金融和财政政策的调控力度、消除通货紧缩预期和政府干预无效论等。跟踪这些研究无疑是一项有意义的工作。

The Japanese economy had climbed out of the recession since the beginning of 2002 but had nevertheless been confronted with deflation. The Japanese scholars have researched the problem of deflation from the perspectives of 1 ） whether or not economic growth should be taken into account when defining deflation; 2） the causes of deflation from both the demand and the supply side. Specifically, the former involves the consequences of bubble economy, expectation of deflation, and the declining wages ; the latter relates to the Japa- nese regulation reform and technological progress, the changing international labour costs and the yen appreci- ation stemming from the current account surplus, etc. ; 3 ） the formation mechanism of deflation, by citing classical theories of Marx, Keynes and Hayek ; 4） the effects of deflation including its consequences on the real economy, the intergenerational income transfer, and the employment environment; 5） the control of deflation, which involves the adequate intensity of financial and fiscal policies, dealing with the deflation expectation, and the efficacy of government intervention. A thorough review helps to understand the deflation in Japan.