GDP
Brazil central bank director vows quick response to inflation
The monetary policy committee of the central bank will evaluate whether the interest rate needs to be raised to battle inflation, says director, and will act quickly if necessary
Countries in monetary union should index sovereign debt to GDP growth
Bank of England working paper finds GDP-indexed bonds should be used more widely, especially by countries with volatile GDP growth or in monetary unions
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
Banque de France paper explains new GDP forecast model
New model aims to eliminate 'systematic upward predictive bias' since the crisis
Reserve Bank of Fiji adviser targets 5% growth
Lorraine Seeto believes the Fijian economy can grow by 5% each year; highlights the need for more investment, more exports, and a low and stable inflation rate
Slovenian economy assailed by austerity and money markets
According to central bank's 2012 annual report, inflation and credit costs increased as consumption, bank lending and the current account deficit fell
Czech study finds DFM ‘nowcasting' adds value in calculating real-time GDP
Dynamic Factor Model ‘nowcasting' is as accurate as the judgemental method currently used by the Czech National Bank; a simple average of the two results is more accurate than either on its own
Canadian quarterly review outlines toolkit for analysing current economic performance
Summer 2013 edition of the BoC's review contains four articles outlining the bank's latest thinking and methods of analysing current economic trends at home and abroad
IMF paper considers impact of quota change
Executive board has expressed ‘considerable support’ for an increase in the weighting of GDP in its quota formula; staff policy paper simulates the most likely changes to the formula’s make-up
Sri Lankan central bank defends GDP figures
Central bank hits back at accusations of overstated growth figures in latest annual report; insists it follows international best practices
The case for nominal GDP targeting by central banks
Central banks have experimented with new monetary policy approaches, with nominal GDP targeting the latest idea to be put forward. Richard Werner looks at the empirical data supporting such a policy
World Bank says east Asia and Pacific at risk of ‘overheating’
Asia-Pacific policymakers urged to consider withdrawing stimulus – fiscal and monetary – as region’s larger economies reach their productive capacity and face inflationary pressures
Palestine Monetary Authority finds greater parity between West Bank and Gaza territories
Palestinian central bank develops business-cycle indicator to assess economic performance in real time; finds gap in performance between two territories is shrinking
Contribution of Irish financial sector to GDP ‘overstated’
Paper questions the statistical methodology behind claim that Irish financial sector contributes €15 billion to country’s output
Central banks need to be wary of ‘new’ monetary policy trends
Policy-makers are reappraising the role of independent central banks pursuing inflation targets. Bernd Braasch1 encourages them to use sound evidence to inform their judgements
Bhutan governor gives banking sector assurances
Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan 2011–12 annual report reveals ongoing liquidity crisis; inflation increases to 13.5%
Signal-extraction analysed by Latvian paper
Study considers ability of a regularised filter to extract signals from large data-sets
Swiss paper considers how GDP is best forecast
Study says forecasting the individual components of GDP does not produce results worthy of the additional effort
Peruvian paper seeks to fill data void between quarterly releases
Research published by Central Bank of Peru says monthly macroeconomic variables provide information that can be harnessed to predict quarterly aggregates
Linde says Spain on the path to fiscal adjustment
The governor of the Bank of Spain says country is attaining fiscal adjustment and the largest challenge to the economy is restoring market confidence
Canada paper analyses China impact on Latin America
Bank of Canada study investigates the significance of Chinese and US GDP on the transmission mechanism of business cycles to Latin America
Impending drop in economic growth, warns South African research
South African Reserve Bank working paper uses new model to analyse financial conditions; finds conditions have declined and threaten GDP growth
Fed’s Bernanke looks beyond broad market indicators
Fed chairman warns key aggregate metrics can miss economic pain felt by individuals and households; encourages development of economic measures to better assist with policy decisions
China hints at policy adjustments to support economy
People's Bank of China pledges to strengthen the 'fine-tuning' of monetary policy in the country; latest indication of growing anxiety over slowing economy