Economics
IMF signs off on Pakistan aid despite ‘exceptionally high’ risks
Central bank reserves are low and fiscal spending breached limits, but recovery is proving strong
BoC paper highlights ‘profound impact’ of heterogeneity
Confluence of factors has pushed heterogeneity into the forefront of economic research, authors say
IMF warns Chinese economic recovery ‘lacks balance’
Focus on investment has set back progress towards “high-quality” growth, fund says
Kazakhstan’s president announces changes to powerful wealth fund
National unrest leads to changes at SWF that owns an estimated 40% of GDP
IMF pares back forecasts as world faces ‘multiple challenges’
Omicron variant, supply disruptions and inflation threaten to hold back recovery, says Gita Gopinath
Holocaust survivor reparations boosted families’ education and wages
Bank of Israel paper studies the long-term consequences of compensation received by victims
RBA develops new method of modelling financial sector
Approach takes Martin model “beyond the existing macroeconometric frontier”, say researchers
Only some firms pay attention to economic news – Bank of Canada paper
Attention is “polarised and counter-cyclical”, affecting policy impact, researchers find
Eurozone deficits and debt declined in Q3 2021
But debt levels in the bloc remain at high levels, especially in Southern Europe
Effective market operations in a modern central bank
Oliver Wyman’s Paul Fisher and Oliver Wünsch explain how central banks can successfully organise and manage their market operations departments with a public sector workforce, and when their objectives are not dictated by financial returns.
UK inflation hits 30-year high
Figure is now highest since CPI series began, driven by energy and food prices
Frequency of price changes strongly correlated to inflation, says Riksbank
The size of price increases remained stable in Sweden from 2010–18
Sweden inflation hits highest level in 28 years
Rise likely to boost hawkish positions at next Riksbank policy meeting on February 10
South Sudan central bank announces sharp fall in inflation rate
IMF credits exchange rate reforms with taming prices, while central bank cuts interest rates
Norway’s inflation reaches highest level since 2008
Headline reading reaches 5.3%, while core inflation increases by 0.5% to 1.8%
Podcast: why the future of data management sits in the cloud
Cloud technology has numerous benefits for central bank data management
Google data offers real-time indicator of business closures, says BoC research
Google Places database can reveal whether businesses are gone for good or just “hibernating”
Labour market news matters for business cycle – BoE paper
Findings suggest previous focus on productivity is too narrow
Economics Benchmarks 2021 report – executive summary
Covid-19 coloured central banks’ views on the governance of their economics function in the past year
Turkey’s Dornbusch moment
Turkey’s new deposit scheme sets the stage for hyperinflation, writes Barry Eichengreen
BoE paper warns of ‘non-standard errors’
Researchers may introduce additional errors to data samples through their analysis
Fed’s Waller says federal funds rate should rise soon after QE ends
Fed governor hints at tighter policy and offers lessons from the pandemic
IMF paper emphasises importance of carbon pricing
Authors say carbon tax would be “more efficient and easier to administer” than other options
Economics Benchmarks 2021 report – making sense of the modern economy
Covid-19 coloured central banks’ views on their economics function