This paper estimates the natural real interest rate that is consistent with stable inflation and output at its potential for the euro area and Luxembourg. The natural interest rate provides a benchmark for assessing the monetary policy stance, as policy is contractionary when real interest rates...

This paper empirically examines the determinants and differences of the short-run lending rate stickiness among banks in Macedonia by using the Seemingly Unrelated Regression model (SUR). For that purpose, eight bank balance sheet items, two macroeconomic variables and an indicator for the level...

The main instrument of monetary policy in industrialized countries is currently a short-term interest rate. It typically remains unchanged during long spans of time. This paper tries to answer three questions. Why do Central Banks change targeted interest rates so seldom? How should we estimate...

Almost all institutions - employment protection legislation, unions, wages, wage structure, unemployment insurance, etc. - have been alleged and found guilty to have caused this tragic development at some point in the long history of rising and persistent unemployment in Europe. US labor market...

In this paper the authors try to measure production gap in the Czech Republic and, consequently, non-accelerating inflation product (NAIP) as an approximation of potential product. NAIP is treated as an unobservable variable, to which an augmented Phillips curve plays a key role in its...

This paper studies the dynamic response of a few key macroeconomic variables to each one of three exogenous shocks: monetary, government spending and technological shocks. By using a cash in advance model with two market frictions, one in the intermediation of loanable funds, and one in the...

Entgegen früherer Studien, die darauf hinweisen, dass der gesamte Credit Spread eines Bonds durch das mit diesem Bond verbundene Kreditrisiko induziert ist, zeigen neuere empirische Untersuchungen, dass neben Kreditrisiken noch weitere Faktoren die Höhe des Credit Spreads determinieren. Die...

The paper aims at finding the most optimal individual, collective, and combined yield curve forecasting models. It is shown that incorporating macroeconomic information improves the model's goodness-of-fit characteristics. It is also proved that combined forecasts perform better on average when...

In this paper a new fully nonparametric estimator of the diffusion coefficient is introduced, based on Fourier analysis of the observed trajectory. The proposed estimator is proved to be consistent and asymptotically normally distributed. After testing the estimator on Monte Carlo simulations,...

The paper analyses the factors leading to the fall of long-term interest rates in the Czech Republic – respectively, the long-term interest rate differential in the Czech Republic and the Eurozone – between 1998 and 2003. The selection of factors is determined by the Fisher equation, UIP,...