05/16/2018

Choosing monetary policymakers: three lessons from the U.S Fed’s history

By Klodiana Istrefi

Monetary policy nowadays is usually decided by a committee. A narrative approach of the history of the U.S Federal Open Market Committee suggests that the Fed Chair’s economic beliefs and the Committee’s center of gravity of policy preferences matter for decision making.

Figure 1. Hawks and Doves at the FOMC (1960-2015) Notes: The Hawk – Dove Balance is the share of Hawks minus the share of Doves in a given meeting of the FOMC (excluding the chair). The shade of the chart indicates the type of the Fed chair, red for Hawk and blue for Dove. Source: Istrefi (2018)
Updated on 05/17/2018 10:23.
Comments (0)
05/14/2018

Central bank collateral policy and bank lending

Christophe Cahn, Anne Duquerroy, Jean-Stéphane Mésonnier, Charles O’Donnell and Olivier Toutain

Central banks have adopted new unprecedented strategies to fight recent financial crises. In the euro area in 2012, one such tool allowed banks to use a wider set of corporate loans as guarantees when they borrow from the Eurosystem. Two recent studies show that this policy has been critical in fostering banks’ lending to firms during the crisis.

Chart 1: Comparative trends in credit for newly eligible firms Source: Cahn, Duquerroy and Mullins (2017).
Updated on 05/15/2018 11:52.
Comments (0)
05/09/2018

The labour share in value added: a complex assessment

By Gilbert Cette and Jean-François Ouvrard

Changes in the value added sharing are the focus of considerable debate. In France, the assessment depends largely on the scope of analysis chosen and the degree to which it is aggregated, and it differs depending on the sector: since the crisis, the labour share has increased in market services but has declined in industry.

Chart 1: Labour share in value added (% of the cost of labour in gross value added at factor costs) Source: Insee, authors’ calculations
Updated on 05/11/2018 09:24.
Comments (0)
05/07/2018

A lower net investment rate than at the end of the 1990s

By Pierre Sicsic

In France, the gross investment rate of non-financial corporations is trending upwards, and was half a percentage point higher in 2016 than its previous peak of 2007-2008. However, after deducting capital depreciation, the net investment rate, which corresponds to the increase in productive capital, was one percentage point lower than its 2008 peak and equivalent to its mid-2000s level. The acceleration in depreciation stems from the increase in both capital per unit produced and in the average depreciation rate, which is itself linked to the greater share of intangible assets in investment.

Chart 1: Real gross and net investment rate in France (NFCs-IEs approximation) Sources: National Accounts tables 6.302 and 6.462. The nominal investment rate of NFCs was 23.3% in 2008 and 2016, table 7.101.
Updated on 05/09/2018 09:50.
Comments (0)
05/04/2018

Is short-time work an effective job protection policy?

By Sandra Nevoux (with Pierre Cahuc and Francis Kramarz)

Short-time work schemes have been implemented in many OECD countries with a view to protecting jobs in companies experiencing temporary difficulties. While such schemes made it possible to save jobs during the Great Recession of 2008-2009, they may also have adverse effects on the economy. However, these effects would be minimised by sensible reforms.

Chart 1. Short-time work and growth Source: OECD.
Updated on 05/07/2018 10:36.
Comments (0)

Pages