There is no doubt that the economic environment has changed drastically since 2012. Indeed, the challenges are presently somewhat greater and more complex. Today, I will touch on this changing economic landscape, focusing on digital finance and financial inclusion as 1  George Abed is the former Senior Counsellor and Director for Africa and the Middle East at the Institute of International Finance.
The Bank of Japan introduced its Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing (QQE) in April 2013. One tentative conclusion that can be drawn from the experience of a little over two years is that central banks can overcome the zero lower bound, as long as the policy maker commits decisively to fulfilling its mandate with well-designed unconventional policy measures.