Is Abenomics a busted flush? To sceptics it must certainly look that way. Japan’s growth has faltered. A downward revision this week showed the economy expanded at an annualised rate of 1.5 per cent in the fourth quarter. That may not sound too bad for a mature economy that has not exactly dazzled in recent years. However, it comes after two quarters of sharp contraction. Output actually shrank in 2014, albeit by a minuscule 0.03 per cent. Negative growth, however minor, is hardly the “escape velocity” economists say Japan needs to shake off 20 years of deflation.
安倍經濟學(Abenomics)夭折了？在懷疑者看來，目前的情況無疑是如此。日本的經濟增長已經停滯。本周公布的向下修正后的數據顯示，去年第四季度日本經濟的年化增長率為1.5%。對于一個近些年來的表現根本談不上耀眼的成熟經濟體而言，這個數字聽起來或許不算太糟。然而，在再往前的兩個季度里，日本經濟出現了大幅萎縮。日本2014年全年的經濟產出其實是萎縮的，盡管萎縮幅度僅為區區0.03%。負的增長，無論其幅度有多小，都很難算得上是經濟學家口中日本擺脫20年通縮所需的“逃逸速度”。