Economics
Lowe airs concerns about ageing population
RBA deputy says Australian population could become ‘inherently more risk averse’ as it ages, which could make it harder for the economy to generate productivity growth
Czech paper deconstructs exchange rate variability in advanced economies
Researchers find that economic fundamentals are only responsible for a third of the medium-term exchange rate variability, although this increases when the euro is involved
Fed not to blame for recent emerging market sell-off, says BIS
Recent rush of capital out of emerging markets was due to country-specific factors, not tapering by the Fed; Borio reiterates call for better policies, lamenting a ‘disappointing element of déjà vu’
Serbian ‘dinarisation’ showing mixed results
National Bank of Serbia’s attempts to encourage use of the domestic currency show mixed results as dinar deposits increase, but dinar loans fall
East African Community secures €4.5 million EU loan
The deal is aimed at bolstering regional integration and forms part of bigger effort to bind African markets closer together
Redistribution can boost demand but cut output, warns Fed working paper
Richmond Fed working paper points out that although taking from the rich to give to the poor can boost aggregate demand, it may also disincentivise work
Credit-strapped Canadians continued to consume in wake of crisis
Lending supply effect ensured households compensated for scarce credit by drawing down liquid assets instead, according to Bank of Canada research paper
Mauritius has ‘missed the boat’ on sovereign sukuks, says central bank governor
Rundheersing Bheenick argues the government’s failure to issue sukuk bonds ‘severely compromises’ the country’s ability to become a regional centre for Islamic finance
Belgian paper presents new productivity indicators
Researchers from across Europe attempt to tackle the difficulty of comparing firm-level data across the continent by creating a new database of productivity indicators for Europe
Devaluation would not hit Albanian short-run trade balance, research suggests
Evaluation of Albanian trade with its biggest trading partners finds little evidence of the deterioration in trade balance suggested by the ‘J-curve' hypothesis
Finnish paper finds forecast errors correlate with subjective uncertainty, not 'disagreement'
Paper analyses forecasts in the ECB's Survey of Professional Forecasters and the US Survey of Professional Forecasters to find the best predictor of errors
Policy must do more to get women and low-skilled into work, paper finds
Slovak economists analyse the elasticity of labour supply and find that changes in the tax and benefits system could entice women in particular into the workforce
G-20 pledge signposts en route to 'normal' monetary policy
Central bank governors and finance ministers in the world's biggest economies promise to be ‘mindful of impacts on the global economy' as they exit unconventional monetary policy
Home repossession rules explain Europe's divergent debt profiles, paper finds
Discussion paper published by the Deutsche Bundesbank says differences in legal processes explain the ‘striking differences’ in debt profiles of each eurozone country
Fed's Bullard wants more research into what drives labour market participation
St Louis Fed president concludes the existing literature suggests demographics are behind most of the decline in participation, but calls for more detailed work on household participation decisions
Linde says reforms should focus on ‘twin engines of growth’
Bank of Spain governor says reforms are needed to mitigate the country’s ageing population and boost productivity
One in five Albanians has never heard of current or savings accounts
According to survey data analysed in Bank of Albania working paper, less than half of respondents know the concept of interest rates, but 80% understands the workings of inflation
RBA assistant governor says weaker Aussie dollar 'not surprising'
Transition of Australia's mining boom from 'investment to production phase' helps explain the currency's depreciation, says assistant governor Christopher Kent
'Coupling' of domestic bonds to foreign markets increases in turbulent times
Chilean corporate bond returns are affected by long-term government bond returns and by foreign macroeconomic shocks in the eurozone and the US
'Cornered' Argentina introduces new inflation index
New inflation index announced by the government yesterday is a step in the right direction, according to analysts, who nevertheless remain concerned about how data is collected
Sarb hits out at ‘blatant misrepresentation’ ahead of South Africa elections
Central bank refutes claims by Democratic Alliance that Sarb models indicate support for the party’s economic policies; central bank calls for nominations to three non-executive directorships
IMF paper finds highly indebted nations can still grow fast
Results of a new study contradict findings of Reinhart and Rogoff, who argued that growth declines at debt of more than 90% of GDP
Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine central banks play down currency fears
In the wake of Kazakhstan’s devaluation, the central banks in Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine are forced to issue public statements backing the value of their currencies
German banks use interest rate swaps as substitute strategies for managing interest rate risk exposure
They also use on-balance-sheet adjustments of the 'duration gap', Bundesbank discussion paper looking at banks' interest rate risk management finds