The purpose of his paper is to describe consumer behavior in the Czech Republic by estimating a demand system in which demand depends on income and prices, but also on other factors such as age, size of the household, and position on the labor market. We combine Household Budget Survey data with...

In this paper we propose a new approach to the assessment of excessive risk-taking by a banking sector. We use the portfolio approach to assess the optimal risk-return combination of a bank’s portfolio, based on data for 32 categories of loans. It provides a benchmark for the optimality...

Firms have multiple options at the time of adjusting their wage bills. However, previous literature has mainly focused on base wages. We broaden the analysis beyond downward rigidity in base wages by investigating the use of other margins of labour cost adjustment at the firm level. Using data...

This article describes a method for assessing the position of the Czech economy in the financial cycle. On the basis of selected variables tracking risks in the financial sector and the real economy, we construct an indicator aimed at signalling the emergence of future problems in timely...

From a general perspective, collateralisation of exposures is a key tool for mitigating the idiosyncratic risks of financial institutions. If, however, the use of collateral in the financial system exceeds a certain threshold it can pose a risk to financial stability. Collateral use is...

Developments in the commercial property market are an important factor affecting financial stability, especially given their effect on the probability of default of non-financial corporations. This article analyses the development of the office property markets in five central European countries...

In this article we simulate how much the capital of a parent bank must be increased above the minimum capital requirement applying to the parent alone as a result of a requirement being imposed on the banking group as a whole, and how the probability of failure of a subsidiary and the group...

Macroeconomic forecasters are often criticized for a lack of transparency when presenting their forecasts. To deter such criticism, the transparency of the forecasting process should be enhanced by tracing and explaining the effects of data revisions and expert judgment updates on variations in...

This study examines the use of the exchange rate by the Czech National Bank as a monetary policy instrument at the zero lower bound on interest rates. It provides a review of the economic literature on unconventional monetary policy instruments and particularly on the possibility of using the...