Output per worker can be expressed as a function of technological efficiency and of the capital-output ratio. Because technology is exogenous in the Solow model, all of the endogenous convergence dynamics take place through the adjustment of the capital-output ratio. This paper uses the...

Despite the widespread popularity of the Solow growth model, much of the recent empirical work based on the classic framework misrepresents a crucial feature of the model. Namely, the growth rate of technological progress, assumed to be exogenous in the Solow model, is often identified as being...

We review the recent performance of the Euro area economy, focusing in detail on the separate roles played by labour input, capital input, and total factor productivity (TFP). After a long period of catching up with US levels of labour productivity, Euro area productivity growth has, since the...

In any dataset with individual forecasts of economic variables, some forecasters will perform better than others. However, it is possible that these ex post differences reflect sampling variation and thus overstate the ex ante differences between forecasters. In this paper, we present a simple...

The Bank’s Macro-Econometric model has recently been revised. This paper outlines the context within which the model was initially built and the reasons for the revision and re-estimation. Compilation of the data used was a key component of the revision and this is described. The general...

This paper proposes that a variant of the Battese and Coelli (1995) inefficiency model can be applied as a consistent and unifying framework in exploring the determinants of credit institutions’ profit inefficiency scores. To date, work concerned with the potential determinants of credit...

This paper presents aggregated cost efficiency scores for a balanced panel of British and Irish credit institutions and relates these scores to loan loss reserves as a first step in investigating their usefulness as possible indicators of financial fragility. The efficiency scores are oobtained...

The interrelationship between house prices and mortgage credit has been one of the more compelling issues to warrant attention after the recent financial crisis. Considerable financial innovation and liberalisation of wholesale international funding markets over the past 20 years greatly...

The life-cycle theory of consumption draws a well-established distinction between the implications for consumption of changes in wealth perceived to be of a "transitory" as opposed to a "permanent" nature. In this paper, using a unique combination of regulatory and survey micro-data, we examine...

A distinguishing feature of the period preceding the 2007/08 financial crisis was the sizeable increase in private sector debt observed across many countries. A key component of household liabilities is mortgage debt and with many countries experiencing persistent increases in house prices from...