Three Challenges Facing the Japanese Economy
October 9 @ 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm
The 2024 Annual Lecture on the Japanese Economy by Prof. Takatoshi Ito
Three Challenges Facing the Japanese Economy: Demography, Debts, and Decarbonization
Wednesday, October 9, 2024 | 6:30 – 7:45 PM (Reception to follow)
Room 620, Geffen Hall, Columbia Business School
Featuring: Takatoshi Ito, Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB), Columbia Business School
Moderator: David E. Weinstein, Director, CJEB; Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University
Talking Points:
1) Demography (a declining population and an aging society) poses risks of lower potential growth rates, more social security expenditures, and increasing generational inequity.
2) Government debt has increased to a level unprecedented among advanced countries. The risks of fiscal crisis and/or hyperinflation are increasing. Unfair burdens will be placed on younger generations.
3) Japan is struggling to proceed with decarbonization, lagging in transitioning to renewable energy (solar, wind, and EV).
The annual lecture details these challenges and presents recommendations for remedies and mitigation.
Biography:
Takatoshi Ito, Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, has taught extensively both in the United States and Japan since finishing his Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University in 1979. He taught at the University of Minnesota, Hitotsubashi University, and the University of Tokyo, and he was President of the Japanese Economic Association in 2004. Ito served as Senior Advisor in the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund, 1994-97, Deputy Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance of Japan, 1999-2001, and a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, 2006-08. He is an author of Japanese Economy, 2nd Edition, and many other books and refereed journal articles. He was awarded the National Medal with Purple Ribbon for his excellent academic achievement in 2011 and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in 2024.
Admission and Contact:
You must register to attend this event in person.
Special Notes:
● This in-person-only event is open to the public and will not be livestreamed.
● Please be advised that this event may be photographed, so your image may appear on our website later. If this is an issue, please let us know.
● Please bring a government-issued ID or Columbia University ID to access Geffen Hall.
If you have questions about the event, please contact us at cjeb@gsb.columbia.edu.
