Germany's current account balance has been persistently high for about two decades and has increasingly attracted criticism as well as prompted proposals for policy measures geared to reducing the surplus. Assessing such proposals properly requires an analysis based on structural models. As...

In this document, we set out the details for extending the New Area-Wide Model (NAWM; cf. Christoffel, Coenen and Warne, 2008) with a non-zero import content of exports. We first describe the technology used by the intermediate-good firms for producing their differentiated outputs sold abroad....

The fiscal consolidation measures adopted in many euro area countries over 2010-13 reduced excessive domestic fiscal imbalances, but came at the cost of short-term output losses. This simultaneous tightening of fiscal policy raised concerns that such output losses might be exacerbated by...

We consider the effect of an increase in public investments on output in Europe against the background of a sharp drop of public investments in a number of EU countries during the crisis and subsequent policy discussions on the need to stimulate public investments. We start with a brief overview...

The paper analyses the factors driving dollarization in Lithuania during the period from December 1992 to August 2000.Starting with a brief overview of the major economic and political developments in Lithuania, the study attempts to model the process of dollarization by applying rigorous time...

The paper presents the German block of the ESCB multi-country model. It builds on previous modelling work on the Area Wide Model and other country blocks of the ESCB multicountry-model. Whilst being analogous to these models in following a common modelling approach and the same theoretical...

In view of the increasing use of Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models in the macroeconomic projections and the policy process, this paper examines, both conceptually and empirically, alternative notions of potential output within DSGE models. Furthermore, it provides historical...