If there was something like a Nobel Prize for warrantless optimism, I'd nominate you.
No point arguing. Truth is what we can't escape. Keynesyanism might work, for a little time, but look at Japan. They've been subsidizing new infrastructure like no tomorrow for decades. That's classic Keynes, is it not? They've more concrete per capita than any other major state. Their gov't owes something like 300% of GDP in debt. And an economic revival nowhere in sight.
Their economic growth is very slow. People live there far less flamboyantly than 20 or 25 years ago.
That's the future. At best. Massive debt, low growth, less spending. I read a wonderful article that almost demonised new Japanese attitudes to frugality. Like it was a bad thing, spending only the money you have, while keeping a little in reserve.
What you call recovery is merely stopping economic decline that began in '08.
There is no guarantee that will last.
"And ze Nobel Prize vor Warrantlezz Optimizm 2010 is awarded to Martin Solo, Professor of Big Beautiful Boobiez, Optimizm andz Pozitivizm at ze Univerzity of Lillehammer and of Ouagadougou, for hiz groundbreaking andz innovative rezearch provingk ze cauzal link bezween laughingk andz worldwide economic andz monezary growth andz vor being zuch nize guy in general.
Thiz Nobel Prize will be handed over zo him in Stockholm by Mizz Tina Zmall, who he can take home wiz him after ze zeremony."
Well, I can dream, can't I?
Being a psychologist myself, I always find it remarkable how the (worldwide) economy is influenced and determined for a large part by whether people are optimistic or not about it.
Showing us all that economics is not and never will be a (pure) exact science (no matter how hard some economic scientists try to convince us of the opposite).
As for Keynes, he showed that when things go well, governments should save money for times when things go less well. They should act anti-cyclic.
Norway followed this way and has hardly been hit by the economic crisis.
Remains however, that the core of our (capitalistic) economic system is consumerism.
That must go on to ensure and sustain any economic growth.
So, again, buy your ticket for any of my big boob events now to boost the worldwide economic growth!
As for Japan, I think there are quite a few reasons why it is in an economic crisis for so long.
I'm sure they know it themselves, so you or me don't have to tell them that.
As for infrastructure, it's not about how much you have of it but how (well) you use it.
I think Japan can do with a bit more innovative and individual way of thinking and doing business and that it should also be more open and facilitating to(wards) the world outside of Japan in general.