Special report | The economy
Japan’s economy is stronger than many realise
Not bad, but could be better
“THE MOST decisive mark of the prosperity of any country is the increase of the number of its inhabitants,” wrote Adam Smith in “The Wealth of Nations” in 1776. Later David Ricardo and Thomas Malthus traded barbs over whether the food supply would keep up. By 1937 John Maynard Keynes was warning of future population decline, with deleterious economic effects.
This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline “Stronger than many realise”
From the December 11th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition