In The Political Economy of Japanese Monetary Policy, Cargill, Hutchison, and Ito investigate the formulation and execution of monetary and financial policies in Japan within a broad technical, political, and institutional context. Their emphasis is on the period since the early 1970s, when the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates collapsed, and on how policies and institutions have shaped the modern Japanese economy. In addition to presenting basic themes, recent developments, and their own research findings, they review and integrate the large literature, considering theoretical arguments and empirical evidence.