Productivity
Banknotes: October to December 2024
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
Eurozone needs to take more risk, says Bank of Portugal governor
Centeno says lack of investment is handicapping growth
Malaysia’s Zeti on the key skills needed to be a successful central banker
The Bank Negara veteran speaks about leadership skills, lessons from the AFC and 1MDB crises, her scepticism of inflation targeting, and how the Asia School of Business' masters synthesises theory with practical realities
Credit expansion could dampen growth in EMEs – BIS bulletin
Shift in lending from manufacturing and into real estate is also affecting productivity
Greedflation, if it ever existed, is correcting itself
Steve Kamin constructs a “wage gap” to assess inflationary pressures in the US
Masaaki Shirakawa on his ‘unease’ about 2% inflation targets and lessons from Japan
The former Bank of Japan governor speaks with Christopher Jeffery about the need to properly understand the business of banking, making sound contingency plans and the BoJ’s current policy constraints
Italian service sector needs liberalising, paper finds
Bank of Italy research says making market entry easier boosts productivity for all firms
BoJ hawkishness due to weak yen belies wage inflation concerns
The contrast in Japan-US economic, price and wage performance and their implications for monetary policies
Acemoglu questions productivity benefits of AI
MIT economist finds weak productivity gains from AI and says benefits may be undermined by costs
Risks facing central banks: action and inaction
Unlike Fed policy in the 1990s, central bank actions this century do not appear overly accommodative, given poor policy decisions elsewhere, writes Andrew Smithers
BIS’s Zhang Tao on why Asian central banks favour a broader policy mix
The BIS’s Asia chief speaks with Christopher Jeffery and Jimmy Choi about supporting liquidity, financial stability and innovation in the Asia-Pacific region
IMF chief urges China to adopt pro-market reforms
Comprehensive reforms could add $3.5 trillion to economy over next 15 years, Georgieva says
Long-term real rates will be low in US – Minneapolis Fed study
Dampened productivity and ageing population will drag down actual cost of borrowing, say authors
Escaping the structural liquidity trap
Investment needs to be subsidised not taxed if developed countries want to avoid inflation and financial crises, writes Andrew Smithers
Monetary tightening can reduce innovation, says RBA paper
Higher rates affect small Australian firms more than large ones, research finds
Hurdles to hiring migrants ‘jeopardise US tech start-ups’
Frictions caused by visa programme ‘protect unproductive firms’, says Atlanta Fed paper
More female Stem workers could boost Japan’s productivity – study
Tackling gender pay gaps and discrimination against female researchers could accelerate growth
Fed economists estimate natural rate still at rock bottom
Analysis implies policy rate is firmly in restrictive territory and may not remain high
Policy has not been tight long enough – governors
Hot labour markets boost wages and core inflation, making inflation persistent
‘Robust’ wage growth consistent with disinflation – BIS paper
But firms need to avoid increasing their profit margins, authors find
Structural reforms could ‘unleash’ Indian growth – IMF paper
Study highlights shift in sources of productivity growth in India