First of two parts
In the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) published in early October, the International Monetary Fund notes that achieving sustained healthy growth over the medium term depends critically on rebalancing the pattern of global demand.
The IMF calls on many current account surplus economies that have followed export-led growth strategies to rely more on domestic demand growth to offset likely subdued domestic demand in deficit economies that have undergone asset price busts. It also argues that many external deficit countries would need to rely less on domestic demand and more on external demand. How should the recent performance of the Japanese economy be assessed in this context?