The Bank of Japan (boj) pioneered the process known as quantitative easing (qe) in 2001-06, when it massively boosted the reserves that commercial banks held at the central bank. Its verdict on how well oe worked then ought to interest policymakers today. It will also discomfort them. For all that it propped up Japan's creaking banking system, oe did not really improve the economy nor end the country's deflationary mindset (see chart).
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