The problem with Japan's 'revolutionary' new economic plan

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the Western world's major advanced economies have found themselves in a bit of a funk. The worst of the crisis is over, but we seem to be, somehow, stuck in

second gear. Incomes aren't growing fast enough, unemployment is still too high, interests rates are very low, and inflation is extremely low. And the entire world of policymakers,

economists, central bankers, and the like, is sitting around wondering why, and what to do about it.

Some are calling this "the Great Stagnation." Others call it "The New Normal." But whatever you call it, it's real.

Japan has been battling similar stagnation for well over 20 years, much longer than we have, and has tried a lot of things to get itself out of it, some successfully, some less so. In a way,

Japan is a sort of microcosm, a laboratory for what could and couldn't work for the U.S. and Europe, which is what makes its recently announced new monetary policies so interesting. Here's

what's going on: The Bank of Japan is introducing a yield curve target, and an inflation overshoot pledge. And while these are good moves, they don't go nearly far enough.

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Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is a writer and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His writing has appeared at Forbes, The Atlantic, First Things, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The

Federalist, Quartz, and other places. He lives in Paris with his beloved wife and daughter.