TY  - JOUR
AU  - Senda, Takashi 
PY  - 2017
TI  - How Can the Public Monitor Monetary Policy?
JF  - American Journal of Economics and Business Administration
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
DO  - 10.3844/ajebasp.2017.38.46
UR  - https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajebasp.2017.38.46
AB  - On August 11, 2000, the Bank of Japan made one of the most controversial decisions in the history of monetary policy when it ended its zero-interest-rate policy and increased the overnight rate to 0.25%. This paper aims to examine whether or not this decision to terminate the zero-interest-rate policy was premature. In this study, I argue that this decision by the Bank of Japan to tighten monetary policy in 2000 was unreasonable as there still remained a great deal of slack in the economy and inflation was not far from its target. On reading the minutes of the Monetary Policy Meeting of August 11, 2000, I observe that some arguments for tightening monetary policy seem to confuse rates of change and levels.