This is arguably an important difference with respect to the Japanese experience in the 1990s, where commentators have argued that non-standard measures could have been implemented earlier.11 Looking ahead, anchoring inflationary expectations is crucial to provide a stable environment for the decisions to invest and hire workers, and to avoid the deflationary pressures which exacerbated and prolonged economic stagnation during Japan’s lost decade.
The firm  11  See, for example, Ueda (2012), “Deleveraging and monetary policy: Japan since the 1990s and the United States since 2007”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 26, pp. 177–202. 6  BIS central bankers’ speeches  commitment of the ECB to its medium-term inflation objective is its best contribution to sustainable economic growth.