MACROECONOMICS

Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics

Introduction

Balance of payments represents a systematic evaluation of the economic transactions between residents and non-residents of the country associated with the receipt and payment of cash. The main operations are receiving income from exports of goods, services, income from overseas investments and acquisition of domestic assets by foreign firms of the country, and the basic operations of payments the payment of import of goods, services, income payments on foreign investments in this country and the acquisition of foreign assets by residents. The balance of payments is compiled for a specific period - a year, quarter, month. Under the residents understand the legal and natural persons operating in the country.

Japan balance of payments

After a slight decline in 2009, the current account surplus of Japan a new record in 2010. This good performance is linked to the sharp increase in the surplus income (with 21%, it is now higher than the trade balance) which offset the slight decline in the trade balance (-8%, against -25 % in 2009). The decrease in the deficit of services continuously since the mid-1990 continues (-19.5%). Finally, the financial account deficit remains strongly against a backdrop of massive capital outflows, maintaining a downward pressure on the yen. Asia remains the preferred trading partner of Japan (45% of trade in goods), followed by North America (20%) and Western Europe (14%). The trade balance is in excess of the archipelago with all world regions except the Middle East (and to a lesser extent of Oceania), which is its almost exclusive provider of energy materials (Abell, 1990).

The surplus of revenues (2.5% of GDP) exceeds the trade surplus in 2010 (1.7%). Despite strong exports in 2006 (14.6%, a rate of increase twice as fast in 2009), the trade balance is down (-8%, against -26% in 2009) because an even faster growth in imports (+17.9%) on a background of high energy prices - oil and natural gas - and raw materials (which contribute to the increase in the amount of 7 and 5 points respectively).

The services balance remains in deficit but continued to grow. If high energy prices, causing price increases, weighing on the item “transport "(- 20%), the item" travel "been a significant reduction of its deficit (up to 22%) because of the increasing number of foreigners visiting Japan. The "other services" is in surplus for the second consecutive year in particular because of the good performance of fees and expenses license, but also an increase of the amounts collected as fees by trading houses in their activity international trade. The surplus of income over the years is more of the trade balance. This movement is the result of the policy of massive foreign direct investment by Japanese firms (FDI net income rose 31%, a good number also due to the low establishment of foreign companies in Japan) but also income from portfolio investments made abroad by nationals of the Archipelago (22%)(Abell, 1990).

Japanese exports are carried by the automotive and materials. Imports are primarily driven by the supply of ...