We use data on coupon-bearing Australian Government bonds and overnight indexed swap (OIS) rates to estimate risk-free zero-coupon yield and forward curves for Australia from 1992 to 2007. These curves, and analysts’ forecasts of future interest rates, are then used to fit an affine term...

We relax separately two assumptions regarding the Variance Gamma (VG) process and price options accordingly. In the case of the Difference of Gammas model we achieve a better fit to market data than achieved by other comparable models. In the case of the long range dependent VG model, we find...

We estimate inflation expectations and inflation risk premia using inflation forecasts from Consensus Economics and Australian inflation-indexed bond price data. Inflation-indexed bond prices are assumed to be non-linear functions of latent factors, which we model via an affine term structure...

This paper investigates household saving behaviour in Australia, as well as the drivers behind the recent rise in the aggregate household saving ratio. Our results explaining differences in saving behaviour across households are consistent with theory and previous findings. As might be expected,...

Financial market prices contain information about market expectations for economic variables, such as inflation or the cash rate, that are of interest to policymakers. This article describes four financial market instruments that are particularly useful for this, and documents how market...

This article analyses trends in dwelling prices over the past four decades through the prism of the price-to-income ratio. Exactly which measures of dwelling prices and household income are the most appropriate depends on the question being analysed, but the various measures considered here all...

This article investigates household saving behaviour in Australia and the drivers behind the sharp rise in saving that occurred in the late 2000s after an extended period of decline. Saving behaviour is important as, among other things, it influences household consumption, which accounts for a...

This article uses household-level data to examine the distribution of spending and saving in Australia and how that has changed over time. The distribution of spending and saving is important as, among other things, it can affect the way that the household sector responds to economic shocks. The...

We develop a novel technique to estimate inflation expectations and inflation risk premia when only a limited number of inflation-indexed bonds are available. The method involves pricing coupon-bearing inflation-indexed bonds directly in terms of an affine term structure model, and avoids the...