Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin articles
All articles are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. You can download the free Acrobat PDF reader from the Adobe website.
June 2008 (Vol. 71, no 1)
Download the complete issue of the June 2008 Bulletin (PDF 4MB)
Articles
Editor’s Note (PDF 88KB)
Some perspectives on past recessions (PDF 381KB)
As the economy slows in 2008, this article sketches out some key features of past recessions in New Zealand – all the downturns since the mid-1960s, plus the Depression of the 1930s. Each recession was triggered, in significant part, by international events, but each was exacerbated, in part, by domestic pressures or imbalances. History doesn’t mechanically repeat itself, but these past experiences are a sobering backdrop against which to consider the outlook for the New Zealand economy over the next year or two.
The changing transmission mechanism of New Zealand monetary policy (PDF 188KB)
This is the second of two Bulletin articles on the transmission mechanism of New Zealand monetary policy. In the first article (Drew and Sethi 2007), we described this mechanism, detailing the process by which changes in the Reserve Bank’s primary monetary policy instrument, the Official Cash Rate (OCR), eventually influence the general level of prices. This article examines how certain aspects of the transmission mechanism have changed over time. Assessing these changes is especially topical given that, in the estimation of some commentators, the most recent period of monetary tightening has witnessed policy that has been less effective at dampening inflation than previously. We briefly review the case for these claims and catalogue evidence from several sources to show that the overall impact of monetary policy on activity and inflation has not obviously weakened, and that some intermediate links in the mechanism may have, in fact, strengthened over the past decade.
The relationship between financial stability and monetary policy (PDF 116KB)
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand takes distinct actions in order to pursue its goals of monetary and financial stability. However, it is necessary to have coordination between actions taken towards each goal, as the achievement of each depends on the other – inappropriate monetary policy can threaten financial stability, and the maintenance of price stability requires a stable financial environment. Policy actions taken for both goals should be consistent and mutually reinforcing where possible. For example, in some circumstances monetary policy may be used to proactively counter potential asset bubbles, and the use of financial stability tools may lend support to monetary policy’s function of stabilising the business cycle.
The themes and thinking behind New Zealand's 1967 decimal coin designs (PDF 3.1MB)
New Zealand’s switch to decimal currency in July 1967 concluded around three years’ continuous and, at times, controversial work by officials from the Decimal Currency Board, The Treasury and the Reserve Bank, among others. Those directly involved with production of the decimal coins included a Coinage Design Advisory Committee, artists, designers, officials at the Royal Mint and even HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. This article reviews the thinking behind the themes and general imagery picked for New Zealand’s original decimal coins. Today, four of the five circulating coins use themes either applied in the original 1967 decimal release, or directly considered at that time.
Establishing technical specifications for New Zealand's new 10 cent, 20 cent and 50 cent coins (PDF 254KB)
This article explains the analytical process through which the Reserve Bank established technical specifications for New Zealand’s recently issued silver- and copper-coloured coins. The new coins are smaller and are constructed using metal plating rather than solid alloy. Both these innovations reduced the cost of manufacturing New Zealand’s coins, but also required extensive testing and analysis to meet the needs of the vending machine industry and the general public. In particular, the Reserve Bank needed to be satisfied that the coins could work reliably in vending machines, yet also be hard to fake. The coins also had to withstand the wear they would be likely to receive in circulation.
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.
