Research Team
Email: firstname.lastname@rbnz.govt.nz

Biography:

Richard is a Senior Adviser in the Research team. His current research interest is in describing and understanding the performance of firms, and the application of this understanding to issues of public policy. Richard is an Affiliate of Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, and has been a member of the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology’s SET Advisory Group since its inception. Prior to working at the Reserve Bank, he was a Chief Adviser at the Ministry of Economic Development and, before that, worked for Tokyo-Mitsubishi International in London, and the New Zealand Treasury. Richard holds a doctorate from the University of Waikato in Applied Mathematics (Magnetohydrodynamics), where his thesis entailed modelling solar flares.

Current research interests:

• The behaviour and performance of exporters, particularly in relation to the exchange rate
• Determinants of productivity growth, particularly the role of intangible investments (changing work practices; R&D)
• Wage-bargaining and price-setting processes within firms, including understanding nominal wage rigidity
• Business expectations formation, including whether central bank published forecasts guide private expectations

Selected publications:

• Fabling, Richard (2009) “A rough guide to New Zealand’s Longitudinal Business Database”, Global COE Hi-Stat Discussion Paper GD09-103
• Fabling, Richard, Grimes, Arthur & Sanderson, Lynda (2009) “Whatever next? Export market choices of New Zealand firms”, RBNZ Discussion Paper 2009/19
• Fabling, Richard & Grimes, Arthur (2009) “The "suite" smell of success: Complementary personnel practices and firm performance”, RBNZ Discussion Paper 2009/13
• Fabling, Richard & Sanderson, Lynda (2009) “Entrepreneurship and aggregate merchandise trade growth in New Zealand”, RBNZ Discussion Paper 2009/09 (forthcoming in the Journal of International Entrepreneurship) 
• Fabling, Richard & Grimes, Arthur (2008) “Over the Hedge? Exporters' Optimal and Selective Hedging Choices”, RBNZ Discussion Paper 2008/14 (under revision for American Economic Review)
• Fabling, Richard & Grimes, Arthur (2008) “Do Exporters Cut the Hedge? Who Hedges, When and Why?”, MED Occasional Paper 08/02 (under revision for Pacific-Basin Finance Journal)
• Fabling, Richard; Grimes, Arthur & Stevens, Philip (2008) “A Comparison of Qualitative and Quantitative Firm Performance Measures”, MED Occasional Paper 08/04
• Fabling, Richard & Grimes, Arthur (2007) “HR Practices and New Zealand Firm Performance: What Matters and Who Does It?”, MED Occasional Paper 07/02 (forthcoming in the International Journal of Human Resource Management) 
• Fabling, Richard (2007) “How Innovative are New Zealand Firms? Quantifying & Relating Organisational and Marketing Innovation to Traditional Science & Technology Indicators”, in Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators in a Changing World: Responding to Policy Needs, OECD: Paris
• Crawford, Ron; Fabling, Richard; Grimes, Arthur & Bonner, Nick (2007) “National R&D and Patenting: Is New Zealand an Outlier?”, New Zealand Economic Papers 41(1), 69-90
• Fabling, Richard & Grimes, Arthur (2007) “Practice Makes Profit: Business Practices and Firm Success”, Small Business Economics 29(4), 383-399
• Fabling, Richard & Grimes, Arthur (2005) “Insolvency and Economic Development: Regional Variation and Adjustment”, Journal of Economics & Business 57(4), 339-359