It has been an unusually eventful year for central banks all over the world in 2020, and given the current circumstances, the coming year is set to be no less busy. With a variety of challenges to overcome, therefore, central banks hope to achieve several important goals before the end of 2021.
The role of the central bank in maintaining the stability of a nation’s financial system is paramount at all times, but especially during a crisis of the magnitude of COVID-19. Around the world, policymakers have intentionally shut down their economies for the greater good of public health. What specific emergency measures have the world’s top central banks taken to confront this truly unique peril to both physical and financial well-being?
It’s rare for a national leader to be able to claim that an economic system is named after him, but Shinzo Abe, former prime minister of Japan, can. Abenomics, introduced eight years ago, has been an ambitious economic agenda seeking to bring the country out of its doldrums, characterized by deflation and debt. Has Abenomics met its goals? Not entirely, but it has realized some gains and staved off disaster.