New Paradigm in Macroeconomics: Solving the Riddle of Japanese Macroeconomic Performance

This book tries to explain the paradox of the Japanese economy, that defies all neoclassical economic knowledge. Why did the economy stall, and could fiscal and monetary policies as recommended by neoclassical and post-keynesian change anything? The author gives an explanation by replacing the quantity theory of money by the quantity theory of credit, in which one makes a distinction between productive transactions and financial transactions. Only the former contribute to GDP.It is clear that such a minor deviation from mainstream economics, doesn't constitute a paradigm shift. The book has largely been ignored by the profession. This is a pity, because the explanations hold for the continuing recession in the Eurozone.The style of the book is both boring and aggressive, and the statistical method is poor. But it looks like the book give a good explanation for what happens with the Japanese economy.

For the academic, but the rest of us can get by using Investopedia to look up terms like high-powered money, monetary base, monetary supply, endogenous, exogenous, etc. Well worth the effort. Explains more about the present predicament in Europe than all the rest of the scribblers combined. I believe this economist to be the greatest teacher in this field at this time and for the forseeable future. A genuinely path-breaking book. Do yourself a favor, and read this wonderful book. First read "the Princes of the Yen", his first book, then read this one. It offers the key instruments for the creation of the green economy---- the creation, control, monitoring, and management of demand---in others words, a centrally-directed economy whose main function is ecological repair and maintenance, a non-profit undertaking to insure a future for ourselves and those who will follow us.

the "New paradigm" is a real masterpiece (the most interesting book about economics I read in my life): I have a degree in economics (all neo-classical bulls*** - I realize now....), but before reading this book, I could not connect the dots.

For those wondering why lowering interest rates didn't stimulate the economy, or where is the inflation with $4T created by the Federal Reserve Bank, or what happened to the velocity of money, or why am I the only one that doesn't know what the whole market knows at all times... ??? I'm not an economist, only an engineer who does some investing in the market. I want to know how and why the market works, or doesn't. How it is connected to the economy and money. The more I read and observed and studied, nothing makes sense. Then I stumbled upon Princes of the Yen on Youtube... a Matrix moment. The book, Princes of the Yen is a bit difficult to get so I started with New Paradigm... Prof Richard Werner takes a scientific approach with empirical evidence using Japan as the experiment in much of the book. Explains in detail why the assumptions in neoclassic economics fails, then goes on to describe empirically proven behavior. I'm not quite finished with the book, but highly recommend it to those wanting to really understand how the economy works. Perhaps Prof Richard Werner would consider taking Janet Yellen position. I didn't get this book though Amazon, but instead my favorite... Powell's Books in Portland Or.

A superb treatise on money and banking and its relationship to the wider economy. It combines rigorous scholarship, accessible arguments and sane ways out of the financial turmoil and slavery we find ourselves in. Werner reworks macroeconomic theory through the lens of credit, finding that the supposed 'puzzles' of macroeconomics, such as why the velocity of circulation of money appears to bear no stable relationship to real economic activity, dissolve. The key point is that banks create money (credit, debt) out of nothing, they do not act as intermediaries channelling savings to investment. One can then distinguish between credit created for productive purposes and credit created for speculation on rising asset prices in the financial sector. Having done this you find that productive credit creation predicts the path of economic activity remarkably well.The abandonment of credit controls with the advent of neoliberal ideology has meant that productive activity has been increasingly starved of funds to the benefit of the financial sector, also causing the latter to spiral out of control. We also learn why conventional fiscal policy cannot counter recessions. Unless new credit is created to finance it, all that happens is that investment funds are diverted from non-bank financial institutions. Werner points out that instead (and here he joins a long line of distinguished commentators) money can be created by the government, independently of the banking sector, interest-free. It can be literally spent into existence in the public interest.These arguments are bolstered with convincing empirical analysis from Japan, where the author has worked in financial institutions. He therefore has an inside view on the money markets and can speak with an authority born of working knowledge, rather than, as is unfortunately the case with most academics, the armchair. The empirical story charts the housing bubble in Japan, the inevitable bust and then failed attempts to stimulate activity. Sounds familiar? There is political insight too, as we learn that the working practice of central banks differs from the ideology they publicly espouse. The current orthodoxy is exposed as effectively a facade behind which rentiers extort the rest of the population. Unusally for such a radical work, the statistical analysis will pass the exacting standards of even the pickiest academic economist. It's technical in parts but justifiably so, and repays the effort many times over. The technicalities refer to real world entities and processes, unlike those of conventional theory, which means that if you dig hard enough you will find your way through.My one criticism of the book, and this may stem from the period in which most of the painstaking research was conducted, is that there is no link made between the financial crisis and the ecological crisis. It is therefore implicitly pro-growth, and does not speak to current concerns about either climate change or impending energy scarcity. However, Werner's suggestions for a more sane financial system would integrate well with a bona-fide 'green new deal.' Government money could finance programs of energy efficiency and renewables infrastructure, without interest rates imposing short-term time horizon inconsistent with sustainability.Overall the book is easily of a sufficient quality and insight to cause it to be systematically ignored by the mainstream of the economics profession. I do hope this does not happen, and I'll be using it in my teaching for sure.

R.A.W.'s research has led to a profound change in my understanding of macroeconomics. His research points out that the 'best way' to increase income/output is to ensure that the private banking system issues the 'right' type of credit. Thus, prof. Werner, has a {correct} theory of how to 'better' increase income/output {growth}. The problem, is of course, the negative externalities associated with economic 'growth'. He does mention 'green growth' and I'm sure that he is sincere. However, he is an economists {like most macro-economists} whose 'days have passed'. The problem of negative externalities {CO2 and other 'greenhouse gases'} is the existential problem that needs to be tackled.

Werner's book was strongly recommended to me, with a pointer. A colleague in finance felt this was an overlooked work because "riddle of Japanese" left the macroeconomists out, while "paradigms in macroeconomics" left the Japanese economists out. For both of their benefit, all economists should be in. Starting with the premise that economists can hardly claim authority if they can't explain the performance of the, well during the past few decades, world's second-largest economy, Werner then shows repeated failures of Keynesians, monetarists and other schools. He puts forward a more coherent theory which concludes on a Long Finance note, that economists have to understand money before they move on to macroeconomics. A disturbing read for traditional macroeconomists, a thrilling read for those seeking to build a working financial system.

Written on the experience of the japanese lost decade, it is equally relevant for current Great Recession. Same causes, same explanations. A well argued critique of neoclassical economics as being unable to understand what is really going in the real world. Innovative analysis of the role of money and banking in macroeconomics, and subtitution of the quantity theory of money for a quantity theory of credit as the tool to understand the many riddles that real macroeconomic behavior supposes for mainstream economic thinking.