Economics
Japan Looks to Reinvent Its Cash Handouts for Better Results
- Economists recommend targeted steps for low-income individuals
- Cash giveaways in the global financial crisis largely flopped
Customers check a lunch menu outside a ramen shop in Tokyo on April 1.
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Following Donald Trump’s unveiling of $2 trillion in stimulus including cash payments, Japan is revisiting the idea of handouts despite their perceived failure during the global financial crisis.
Cash handed out in Japan after the collapse of Lehman Brothers had little impact as consumers pocketed the money instead of spending it. This time round, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration hopes to engineer a better result by targeting the cash and scaling back its objectives as it unleashes its biggest-ever economic package.