Most central banks currently implement monetary policy by targeting a short-term interest rate. This paper asks: "What is the optimal form for such interest rate targeting, given the objectives facing central banks?" We find the optimal rule is for the central bank to change the target rate...

This paper presents a model of competing payment schemes. Unlike previous work on generic two-sided markets, the model allows for the fact that in a payment system, users on one side of the market (merchants) compete to attract users on the other side (consumers, who may use cards for...

This paper tests the rational expectations theory of the term structure using recent daily, weekly, and monthly observations on New Zealand interest rates. We find that for many maturities we cannot reject the expectations hypothesis using both short and long versions of the theory. These...

This paper examines the problem of optimal tax mix analytically in a two-sector growth model with transitional dynamics. Tax revenue is required to provide a pure public good. The key problems are: over-consumption of leisure under labor income or consumption taxes; and under-investments in...

The study examines whether the Central Provident Fund (CPF) can provide adequate retirement savings for a young Singaporean joining the workforce today, using the Income Replacement Rate (IRR). The paper fills gaps in previous studies on Singapore’s IRR by incorporating unique institutional...