The level of bankarization (access to and use of banking services) is relatively low in Argentina both in historical terms and compared with similarly developed countries. This is shown by indicators both of access to and use of banking services. This paper analyzes a unique database containing...

Financial constraints affect firms’ financial and productive decisions generating substantial macroeconomic implications in terms of investment, economic growth, inflation and income distribution. Despite its relevance, financial constraints are not directly observable. However, empirically...

This paper analyzes the determinants of the interest rate of short-term unsecured loan inter-bank market (call) in Argentina. The results show that the heterogeneous nature of the entities, in terms of size and origin of ownership, impacts on the interest rate agreed. Other additional aspects,...

The uncertainty around monetary policy decision-making requires central banks to make extensive use of macroeconomic models both to analyze the current economic situation and to forecast the evolution of the main economic variables. The Small Economic Model (SEM) for Argentina describes in a...

The use of macroeconomic forecasting models is a common practice in central banks for monetary policy design, for the analysis of the current economic developments and for medium and long term forecasts. Among those models, the small-scale macroeconomic models stand out. Though relatively...

The analysis of the output gap dynamics (the difference between the observed and the non-inflationary potential output) is a widely used tool for structural models employed by central banks. In such models, the output gap is a key variable to explain the dynamics of prices and wages. However,...

The BCRA publishes monthly an expectations survey (REM) that summaries the forecasts and projections of a group of economic analysts and consultants. The BCRA publishes only the mean, the median, and the standard deviation of the sample received. The logic for using these statistics is that all...

Interbank markets are crucial for the proper functioning of banking systems. The analysis of these markets has different dimensions: (i) the diversity of actors involved both from the demand and supply sides, (ii) the regulatory framework and (iii) the risks associated with financial operations....

We use a variation on the business cycle accounting method of Chari, Kehoe and McGrattan (CKM) to study the business cycle in Argentina from 1972 to 2006. The method uses real data together with the equilibrium conditions of a prototype growth model to measure four wedges that are explained by...

The use of banking services in Argentina is relatively low, both in terms of historical standards and in comparison with similarly developed countries. This low bankarization level involves not only use but also availability of banking infrastructure and access to that services. However during...