Sveriges Riksbank Economic Review 2008:1

Date 27/02/2008

The Riksbank’s journal Economic Review discusses subjects related to central banking. The first number of 2008 is published today. It contains six articles, three of which were written to commemorate the fact that last year it was ten years since the Riksbank published the first edition of its Financial Stability Report.

When the Riksbank published its Financial Stability Report ten years ago this was the starting point for a more structured and focused analysis of the financial sector. The way the report has developed and the driving forces behind this are described by Martin Andersson, who was previously Head of the Financial Stability Department, in the article “Ten years with the Financial Stability Report”.  

In autumn 2007 the Riksbank organised a conference entitled ”The Evolution of Financial Markets and Financial Institutions”, in which researchers and representatives of government agencies and financial markets took part. The reason for the conference was the 10th anniversary of the Financial Stability Report. In his contribution to the concluding panel discussion "Loan Portfolio Management: Good News or Bad News for Financial Stability?” Anthony M. Santomero, Senior Advisor at McKinsey & Company, and Former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, observes that the banks’ assets are now more tradable. But at the same time the assets are more complex, which requires greater transparency and better reporting. In another contribution to the panel debate “Financial Evolution and Stability – the Case of Hedge Funds” Kent Janér, MD of Nektar Asset Management, discusses the role of hedge funds in the financial markets.

In the article ”The financial market turmoil – causes and consequences” Deputy Governor Lars Nyberg, Mattias Persson, Head of the Financial Stability Department, and Martin W. Johansson, Head of the Macroprudential Division in the same department, describe the lessons we can learn from the financial market turmoil in 2007. 

In their article “The matching process on the Swedish labour market: A regional analysis”, Ted Aranki and Mårten Löf, economists at the Monetary Policy Department, observe that labour supply and demand are matched less efficiently in densely-populated regions than in sparsely-populated areas. 

The journal is available as a PDF file on the Riksbank’s website under the heading Publications/Published/Economic Review. It can also be collected from the main entrance to the Riksbank at Brunkebergstorg 11 or ordered by e-mail, forradet@riksbank.se, fax +46 8 787 05 26 or telephone +46 8 787 00 00.