Before I conclude, I would like to quote the words of Walter Heller, economic adviser under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson: “An economist is a man who, when he finds something works in practice, wonders if it works in theory.” If this adage is true, I suppose we can look forward to a much deeper theoretical understanding of the secrets of unconventional monetary policies in the coming years.
At the same time, practitioners in central banks cannot afford to be complacent. Speaking of the Bank of Japan, for example, inflation is still well below our target, although this is partly due to the temporary influence of low oil prices.