The Flow of Funds through a Government – A Case Study on Japan

In Japan, the sustainability of public finance including that of social security is of serious concern. The underlying cause is that Japan is in transition to a new phase of economy and society because of medium-term changes in the revealed preferences of people about their lifestyle. Nevertheless, the socio-economic systems and institutions, which are founded on public opinion (or the stated preferences of people), have not kept up those changes. This would contribute to the distortion in the flow of funds through the government, adversely influencing the fiscal sustainability. That distortion should be corrected based on such an understanding.