Can IT be Japan`s Savior?

Abstract:     
This paper constructs a multi-sector model to take explicit account of the very sharp change in the relative price between non-IT and IT goods. The model is calibrated to the Japanese economy, and its solution path from 1990 on is compared to Japan`s macroeconomic performance in the 1990s. Compared to the one-sector analysis of Japan in the 1990s in Hayashi and Prescott (2002), our model does slightly better or just as well in accounting for Japan`s output slump and does worse in accounting for the capital-output ratio. We also show that, to revive a 2% long-term growth in percapita GDP, Japan needs to direct 10% of private total hours to the IT sector.

Working Paper Series