After Wind's Blowing

After wind's blowing, basinsmiths get money.---- This is a famous Japanese saying. It means as follows:

(1) After wind's blowing, sand flutters in the wind.

(2)Many people have got some sand in their eye.

(3)Some people go blind.

(4)They play the Japanese lute to make a living.

(5)To make the Japanese lute, many cats are caught to skin them. (Japanese lute is made of the hide of cat. Those who protect animals may blame us Japanese for it.)

(6)Few cats are around there.

(7)Many rats go around and ruin the roof of house.

(8)The roof has a leak.

(9)Many basins are needed to take the falling drops of rain.

(10)Basinsmiths get money.

Do you like it? Some Japanese have the wrong tale of this saying: After wind's blowing, the roof is broken, basins are needed and thus basinsmiths get money.

This tale is used well for explaining and taking the case of the process of recession in the class of macroeconomics at college in Japan. (In fact I was taught this saying as a freshman at college.) This tale has a very similar flow chart to that of business cycle: Rising inflation, for example, leads to a recession.

(1)Economy is booming.

(2)Inflation rises.

(3)Ben Bernanke(the Chairman of FRB) contracts amount of money circulating the economy for fear of rising inflation.

(4)Interest rate rises.

(5) Spending for consumption is postponed and demand for investment diminishes.

(6)Aggregate demand(consumption & investment)falls.

(7)Inflation decreases.

(8)Economy goes to a recession.

This type of flow chart is somewhat similar to that of the above saying. Ben Bernanke keeps the above flow chart in mind when conducting monetary policy. And many economists also know that, even though they don't know that basinsmiths get money after wind's blowing.

Dr Mankiw, how about such a saying in your Eco10 class?