How has Japan’s economy changed since the 1990s? | ft. Noah Smith Article

Thanks for watching everyone. Feel free to leave questions, comments, and your general thoughts about my analysis or this issue in the comments below.

#Policy #Japan #Economics

0:00 Introduction
1:09 Japan has changed A LOT since the 1990s
16:30 My Thoughts

[progamerman]

Could you make a video about the willow project?

[schumanhuman]

I agree with a lot of what Noah has to say both in general and in this article but he's overstating the effect of building on affordability in Japan. Rents are moderaetly cheaper in major cities like Tokyo and Osaka than say, London or New York, and building more has contributed but average prices across the country are masking big price gains in major cities.
New apartment prices recently exceeded the 89 bubble peak, though only in nominal terms when you consider Japan's low inflation, they are not that far off in real terms either.

Japan's population is not only getting older, it is now falling, and even in Tokyo since 2018 despite inward migration. My worry is Japan is actually going to overbuild this cycle (2nd phase of the longer18 year model 2008-2026) and end up with something akin to China's malinvestment bubble where 25% of buildings are now empty, or indeed their own 80's bubble, albeit on a smaller scale.
I don't think even pro LVT neoliberals/quasi Georgist YIMBY's really get the full implications of how land speculation and credit combine to distort the market.