We test the concept of the opportunistic approach to monetary policy in South Africa post-2000 inflation targeting regime. The article contributes to the current debate on central banks having additional objectives over and above inflation and output by incorporating a measure of financial...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) sets monetary policy rate. Design/methodology/approach – Given the controversial debate on whether central banks should target asset prices for economic stability, the authors analyse whether the...

This paper is the first one to: (i) provide in-sample estimates of linear and nonlinear Taylor rules, augmented with an indicator of financial stability, for the case of South Africa, and (ii) analyse the ability of linear and nonlinear monetary policy rule specifications, as well as...

This paper develops a political economy model of multiple unemployment equilibria to provide a theory of an endogenous natural rate of unemployment. This model is applied to the UK and the US interwar period which is remembered as the decade of mass unemployment. The theory here sees the natural...

We develop a theoretical nonlinear model of equilibrium unemployment and test its policy implications for a number of OECD countries. The theory here sees the natural rate and the associated equilibrium path of unemployment as endogenous, pushed by the interaction of shocks (mainly...

Our purpose is to investigate how the European Central Bank (ECB) sets interest rates in the context of both linear and nonlinear policy reaction functions. This work contributes to the current debate on central banks having additional objectives over and above control of inflation and output....

This paper estimates the optimal response of the SARB to deviations of inflation and output from their target values over the inflation targeting era. This is achieved using an empirical framework that allows the central bank's policy preferences to be zone-like and asymmetric. The first major...

This paper estimates the optimal response of the SARB to deviations of inflation and output from their target values over the inflation targeting era. This is achieved using an empirical framework that allows the central bank's policy preferences to be zone-like and asymmetric. The first major...