We build a model with frictional unemployment and staggered wage bargaining and we assume that hours worked are negotiated every period. We analyze the role of workers? bargaining power in the hours negotiation on unemployment volatility and inflation persistence. The closer to zero is this...

This paper analyses the path of private consumption and its main macroeconomic determinants. These are related to the life-cycle approach which helps explaining consumption smoothing. In that respect, it is important to go beyond the simple correlation between current disposable income and...

This working paper gives an overview of the current debate on monetary policy reactions to asset prices, focusing on the developments on equity markets in the United States. It first describes the main causes and consequences of these developments and then surveys the pros and cons of a monetary...

This article gives a general overview of economic developments in the United States in the nineties and aims to highlight certain structural characteristics underlying them. The performance of the American economy is situated in a longer-term perspective and compared with those of other advanced...

Since 1 June 2003 the file of the Central Office for Credits to Private Individuals has recorded information relating to all consumer credits and mortgage loans contracted by natural persons for private purposes, as well as any payment defaults resulting from these loans. This registration aims...

La Belgique est un des pays européens où le coin fiscal et parafiscal sur les revenus du travail est le plus élevé tandis que le taux d'emploi y est plus faible que la moyenne européenne. Elle est également caractérisée par le rôle prédominant exercé par les cotisations sociales dans...

The aim of this study is to give an overview of recent developments in Belgium’s direct investment relations with the rest of the world. The analysis is based mainly on two sets of statistics drawn up by the National Bank of Belgium, namely, data on direct investment flows from the balance of...

This article aims at setting forth the development of venture capital in Belgium. To that end, the situation is compared with the one prevailing in the whole of Europe and particularly in some neighbouring countries: Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In a first part the...