The purpose of this literature review is to investigate a new generation of models that integrate two approaches, until now different, of growth : one focusing on R?D the other on human capital accumulation. Those new models allow to deal with the interaction between inequalities and growth,...

Following the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008, SACU member countries have witnessed a significant growth slowdown, and a deterioration of their fiscal balances. This paper (i) assesses options for the design of the needed fiscal consolidation, and (ii) discussed medium-term fiscal...

This paper applies the work of Berg and Ostry (2011) to the SACU region, to identify how inequalities have played a role in growth in each of these countries, and elaborates policy options to mitigate the effects of inequalities and foster growth. Lower income inequalities could lead to...

Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland face the serious challenge of adjusting not only to lower Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) transfers because of the global economic crisis, but also to a potential further decline over the medium term. This paper assesses options for the design of...

The nature of expectations matters when conducting monetary policy. Models with a learning process can exhibit very different properties from models with other types of expectations rules. This paper draws on the work of Orphanides and Williams (2002), extending it to allow for the possibility...

This paper documents the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's current approach to dealing with structural change, an important feature of New Zealand's recent macroeconomic history after the profound economic reforms undergone in the past twenty years. Traditional estimated macroeconomic models of New...

This paper reviews the literature on applications of state- space modelling to macroeconomic questions, with four examples related to modelling unobserved trends, transition across different steady states, expectations formation and forecasting/data revision issues. Due to the flexibility of the...

The interest rate which corresponds to neutral monetary policy settings in New Zealand appears to have trended downwards since at least the stabilisation of inflation in 1992. We present several alternative estimates of a time varying neutral real interest rate (NRR) in state space models, which...

This article presents a macro-econometric model for Estonia currently developed at the Bank of Estonia. It is based on a basic macro-economic framework that integrates both supply and demand side components. With this model we analyse the policy that should be implemented to maintain sustainable...