For this paper, we use quarterly seasonally unadjusted data, where
available, for the United States vis-à-vis Japan over the period
1980:1–2009:4. We choose the start of the sample period in order to
control for structural change in the Japanese financial system because
by the end of 1979, the interbank rates in Japan were deregulated, capital
controls were removed, and the certificate of deposit market developed
(McCornac, 1991). We use quarterly data as GDP data are not
available on a monthly basis. The short-term interest rates are represented
by the official discount rates,7 whereas the long-term interest
rates are represented by the 10-year government bond yields. Moreover,
we use the consumer price index (CPI) to deflate the stock price
indices represented by the S&P 500 in the United States and the Nikkei
225 in Japan.