We study the dynamics of consumption, the real interest rate and measures of labour input in Japan over the period from 1985 to 2014. We identify structural breaks in macroeconomic aggregates during the 1990s and associate them with the zero interest‐rate policy pursued by the Bank of Japan and the surprise increase in the consumption tax rate in April 1997. Formal estimation using the generalized methods of moments shows that the mid‐1990s are characterized by breaks in the structural parameters governing household consumption and labour supply decisions. Specifically, following the tax hike and during the low nominal rate period, Japanese households became less risk averse and exhibited a higher degree of habit formation.

中文翻译：

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低利率环境下的实际利率和消费平滑：日本的情况

我们研究了1985年至2014年期间日本的消费动态，实际利率和劳动投入量。我们确定了1990年代宏观经济总量的结构性突破，并将其与世界银行奉行的零利率政策联系起来日本的消费税率和1997年4月的消费税率出人意料的增加。使用广义矩法进行的正式估算显示，1990年代中期的特征是控制家庭消费和劳动力供给决策的结构参数破裂。具体来说，在加税后和低名义利率期间，日本家庭的厌恶风险降低，并形成了较高的习惯养成。