The amount of central bank money, or liquidity, needed to settle payments, depends on the way the settlement is organized. It is largest when payments are settled individually on gross basis and smallest with settlement in one big netting cycle. Retail payments are increasingly processed in...

This report analyses and reviews the corporate finance structure of non-financial corporations (NFCs) in the euro area, including how they interact with the macroeconomic environment. Special emphasis is placed on the crisis that began in 2007-08, thus underlining the relevance of financing and...

The Russian economy boomed in the period of rising energy prices. That period coincided roughly with the era of Vladimir Putin's presidency (2000-2008). The speed of Russia's catching-up was then even faster than that of the new EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe. Surging energy...

This study examines the Twitter policies and use of European central banks. Almost every European central bank maintains an institutional Twitter account, but tweeting activity, tweet content and usage restrictions on Twitter use by individual staff members vary considerably. We further consider...

This paper explores offshoring of firms’ research and development functions. Our analysis employs a previously untapped and unique Eurostat International Sourcing Survey. The results are easy to summarize. First, the magnitude of R&D offshoring is small. Second, a large majority of R&D is...

This paper argues that the implications of globalization for monetary policy come mainly through two channels: On the one hand, the many structural changes, which are associated with the globalization process, cause an increase in uncertainty surrounding monetary policy. This leads to an...

To benefit from the newly established EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the Visegrád countries - Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland - have submitted their national recovery plans. The Czech and Slovak plans have already been approved by the EU, paving the way for the up-front...

The Visegrád economies have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially its second wave. In response, macroeconomic policies have been markedly relaxed, with fiscal stimulus packages reaching up to 14% of GDP in Poland and Czechia. The projected recovery of the Visegrád economies from...

Over the past decade, geopolitical developments - and the policy responses to these by major economies around the world - have challenged economic openness and the process of globalisation, with implications for the economic environment in which central banks operate. The return of war to Europe...

This study examines the effects of bilateral exchange rate on trade flows in the WAMZ and assesses the role of complementarity trade structures in enhancing intra-WAMZ trade. The modified gravity model is used to assess whether efforts by WAMZ countries to facilitate transactions in national...