This book examines how Japan should cope with fiscal challenges, as demands on the budget from an ageing society have necessitated the reigning in of public debt and the revamp of the pension and healthcare systems. It combines insights from academic research with the views of policymakers to distil key issues that need to inform public debate.

"[T]he book does an excellent job of providing thoughtful analysis of some of the thorniest aspects of Japan's fiscal situation, such as the extent to which the existing debt burden may limit future policy options, the difficulties of achieving a central government surplus given the structure of intergovermental transfers, and the many unknowns plaguing efforts to predict the budgetary consequences of Japan's aging population." - Jennifer H. Dwyer, Hunter College

Auteur
HENRY J. AARON Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, USA SHUN-ICHIRO BESSHO Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance, Japan ROBERT DEKLE Professor, Department of Economics, University of Southern California, USA DANIEL CITRIN Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific Department, International Monetary Fund, USA MASAYOSHI HAYASHI Principal Economist, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance, Japan PETER S. HELLER Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund, USA R. GLENN HUBBARD Dean, Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Graduate School of Business and Professor of Economics, Columbia University, USA TOSHIHIRO IHORI Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo, Japan YUTAKI IMAI WIN Advisory Group, USA HIROMITSU ISHI Professor, Chuo University, Japan TAKATOSHI ITO Professor, Graduate School of Business and Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo, Japan YASUSHI IWAMOTO Professor, Department of Economics, University of Tokyo, Japan RYUTA RAY KATO Graduate School of International Relations, International University of Japan, Japan MASUMI KAWADE Faculty of Economics, Niigata University, Japan LAURENCE J. KOTLIKOFF Professor of Economics, Boston University, USA KENNETH N. KUTTNER Danforth-Lewis Professor of Economics, Economics Department, Oberlin College, USA HOWARD OXLEY Senior Economist, Health Division, Employment and Social Affairs Directorate, OECD, France EIJI TAJIKA Dean, Graduate School of International and Public Policy, Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, Japan TOSHIKI TOMITA Professor, Faculty of Law, Chuo University, Japan ISAMU UEDA Senior Vice Minister of Finance, Ministry of Finance, Japan DAVID E. WEINSTEIN Professor, Department of Economics, Columbia University, USA YUJI YUI Dean, Department of Economics, Seijo University, Japan NAOYUKI YOSHINO Professor of Economics, Keio University, Japan

Contenu
Overview of the Japanese Deficit Question; R.G.Hubbard & T.Ito Comments on 'Overview of the Japanese Deficit Question'; D.E.Weinstein Comments on 'Overview of the Japanese Deficit Question'; N.Yoshino Public Debt and Economic Growth in an Ageing Japan; T.Ihori, R.R.Kato, M.Kawade & S.Bessho Comments on 'Public Debt and Economic Growth in an Ageing Japan; R.Dekle Comments on 'Public Debt and Economic Growth in an Ageing Japan; T.Tomita Medium-term Strategies for Long-term Goals; H.J.Aaron Comments on 'Medium-term Strategies for Long-term Goals'; H.Ishi Comments on 'Medium-term Strategies for Long-term Goals'; K.N.Kuttner Fiscal Decentralization in Japan: Does It Harden the Budgets of Local Governments? E.Tajika & Y.Yui Comments on 'Fiscal Decentralization in Japan: Does It Harden the Budgets of Local Governments?'; D.Citrin Comments on 'Fiscal Decentralization in Japan: Does It Harden the Budgets of Local Governments?'; M.Hayashi Managing Public Costs in the Japanese Health and Nursing Care Sector; Y.Imai & H.Oxley Managing Social Costs: Challenges in Creating a Cohesive System for Health Care, Pensions, and the Needs of the Elderly; K.Kaizuka Avoiding a Fiscal/Demographic/Economic Debacle in Japan; L.J.Kotlikoff Comments on 'Managing Public Costs in the Japanese Health and Nursing Care Sector', 'Managing Social Costs: Challenges in Creating a Cohesive System for Health Care, Pensions, and the Needs of the Elderly' and 'Avoiding a Fiscal/Demographic/Economic Debacle in Japan'; P.S.Heller Comments on 'Managing Public Costs in the Japanese Health and Nursing Care Sector', 'Managing Social Costs: Challenges in Creating a Cohesive System for Health Care, Pensions, and the Needs of the Elderly' and 'Avoiding a Fiscal/Demographic/Economic Debacle in Japan'; Y.Iwamoto Concluding Remarks; A.O.Krueger