Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin articles – December 2012
All articles are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. You can download the free Acrobat PDF reader from the Adobe website.
December 2012 (Vol. 75, no. 4)
Download the complete issue of the December 2012 Bulletin (PDF 2.8MB)
Matching workers
with jobs: how well is the New Zealand labour market doing? (PDF
1.9MB)
By Rebecca Craigie, David Gillmore, Nicolas Groshenny
Since the trough of the 2008/09 recession, the unemployment rate has remained high. However, some other indicators suggest that there might be less downward pressure on wage and price inflation than the unemployment rate alone implies. We explore this apparent discrepancy by looking at the relationship between vacancies and the number of people unemployed (the Beveridge curve) and by estimating a measure of the effectiveness of the labour market at matching unemployed workers with vacancies. We suggest that both the Canterbury earthquakes and international migration flows may have contributed to an apparent decline in the matching efficiency in the labour market.
What is the repo
market? Why does it matter? (PDF 2.1MB)
By Bevan Cook
The repurchase (‘repo’) market was a key channel through which the Global Financial Crisis was transmitted. With activity in these markets now recovering, pressure is mounting for regulators elsewhere to increase the resilience of repo markets so that they become a more stable source of funding during periods of market stress.
New Zealand’s repo market has not suffered from the same kind of issues, primarily because financial institutions here do not use repos to gain leverage. Furthermore, the small size of the New Zealand repo market and the dominance of low-risk collateral have meant that it is less likely to transmit shocks to other markets. Nevertheless, the Reserve Bank continues to monitor local repo market developments carefully.
This article outlines the functioning of repo markets, as well as recent developments both offshore and in New Zealand, and touches lastly on the outlook for these markets.
Recent trends
and developments in currency 2011/2012 (PDF 1.7MB)
By Glenys Jacobson
This article looks at trends and developments in New Zealand’s currency over the year to June 2012. The total value of currency in circulation has continued to grow, as it has over the past several years. Every denomination of banknote and coin has seen increases, although at varying rates. The Reserve Bank undertakes note processing to maintain a high quality of notes in circulation. New Zealand has a low rate of counterfeiting by international standards, and the level of counterfeiting has fallen this year.
Financial
accounts and flow of funds (PDF 1.7MB)
By Phil Briggs
This article briefly describes the structure of sectoral accounts for the economy under the framework of the System of National Accounts. It outlines a Reserve Bank work programme to support the development of financial accounts and flow of funds analysis. These accounts would enhance our understanding of financial behaviours and inter-sectoral relationships within the economy. The article also discusses the development of a full household sector balance sheet and presents estimates for a number of items that are not currently covered in the Reserve Bank’s published tables of household assets. New experimental estimates of the equity held in unincorporated businesses, and households’ equity in unlisted incorporated businesses add around $170 billion to previously published estimates of household assets.
For the Record (PDF 1.7MB)
Recent analytical notes, discussion papers, news releases and publications from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
The views expressed are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Articles published in this Bulletin may not be wholly or substantially reproduced without the permission of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Data, brief extracts from articles, and other material appearing in the Bulletin, may be used without restriction provided due acknowledgement is made of the source.
