Economics
Interview: Edward Prescott
The Nobel Prize-winner speaks to Daniel Hinge about time inconsistency and real business cycle theory, and explains why there is no ‘productivity puzzle’
US income inequality boosted by top 0.01% – research
Income via “pass-through businesses” is a great contributor to top inequality
Paper highlights disparity in which fields of economics women enter
New York Fed study examines female participation rates in economics through conference case study, suggesting there may be barriers for women entering finance
Global factor playing bigger role in commodity prices, researchers say
“Single global factor” likely to be linked to demand, Banque de France paper finds
Senior figures disagree over future of central bank mandates
Independence for central banks has been a success and is vital for carrying out mandate; Otmar Issing says ECB should not act as a substitute for politics
Bank Indonesia under pressure from falling inflation
Bank Indonesia cuts rate for the second consecutive month; policymakers in Indonesia have been struggling to hit ambitious growth targets
Chicago Fed’s Evans sees little risk of inflation surge
Study by the Chicago Fed finds little evidence there could be a threshold in unemployment beyond which inflation may surge
SNB’s Jordan praises John Taylor legacy
The governor values how the Taylor rule has provided policy guidance, becoming an important benchmark
ECB paper attempts rigorous testing of economic sentiment
Researchers correlate economic data from 1985 to 2016 with measures of sentiment
‘Significant non-linearities’ in debt-investment relationship, paper says
Researchers look at data from five peripheral eurozone countries
More power for US politicians reduces credit in their states, paper finds
Gains in power for politicians' power may increase banks’ ability to screen out lenders, researchers say
Multiplier of spending cuts bigger than fiscal expansions, paper argues
Impact of austerity is at its peak during recessions, Richmond Federal Reserve paper finds
Stanley Fischer announces October resignation from Fed
Vice-chair to step down in October “for personal reasons”, eight months before scheduled
Book notes: Advice & Dissent: My Life in Public Service, by YV Reddy
An engaging look into the private life and career of a former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and arguably one of the best central bankers of the twentieth century, YV Reddy
IMF paper explores relation between greenhouse gas emissions and GDP growth
Research studies how advanced economies are transitioning to low-emissions economic models
Latin America lags in use of robotics, but faces same threats
Robots threaten over 50% of jobs across the region, report warns, though they offer an opportunity to boost productivity
Kansas City Fed explores sources of wage dispersion in the US
Paper explores relative importance of “lifetime differences” and “match-specific” factors
Finnish paper investigates key factors in financial development
Data points to rule of law and economic development are key factors, paper argues
Spanish paper looks at sectoral comovement and monetary policy
Monetary policy shocks have greater effects when industries experience comovement - researchers say
People: New chairman in Macau; Bosnia appoints vice-governor
Chan Sau San to lead Macau’s monetary authority; Bosnia appoints vice-governor; Nathan Sussman leaves the Bank of Israel after six years as head of research
Book notes: The Limits of the Market, by Paul de Grauwe
De Grauwe has produced a concise analysis into how markets and governments react with one another; but his lack of familiarity with the history of economic thought is surprising
Where have all the women gone?
The number of women working at central banks has increased substantially, but a glass ceiling appears to remain for those reaching for senior management positions
Spanish paper looks at business cycle’s effects on industry
Industries are not moving uniformly to cohesion with the business cycle, says paper
Paper’s forecasting technique using Markov-switching models
Results outperform Fed’s survey of professional forecasters, says Bank of Spain paper