D.Com. (Economics) / This study covers the possible causes of inflation in South Africa. Inflation is usually defined as a period of sustained increase in the general price level. The South African inflation rate has accelerated from a moderate start in the early 1960's, and has shown a persistent resistance to regain former levels ever since. This resistance called for an identification of the causes of inflation and for some light to be shed on the inflation process experienced in South Africa since 1965. The aim of the investigation was, firstly, to estimate an inflation function: and, secondly, to simulate the inflation rate. The study was carried out in two stages. In the first, a survey was carried out of all the applicable inflation theories. The conventional inflation theories, the quantity monetary theory and the demand-pull and cost-push theories were analysed. Consequently, the new inflation theories were discussed. The discussion starts off with an analysis of the Phillips curve, as interpreted by R. Lipsey, and the differentiation by Friedman and Phelps between the short-run and long-run Phillips curves, through to the criticism by the School of Rational Expectation.

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2013. / This study examined the portfolio theory of dollarization of Ize and Yeyati (2003) to see if it holds in Argentina and Tanzania, this study was conducted to see if the variables of the exchange rate volatility and inflation rate fluctuation contribute to dollarization. Moreover, it shows that there is a relationship between the level of dollarization on nominal interest rate, inflation rate and exchange rate as the portfolio theory predict. The Chow test (Chow (1960) was used to test for the equality of coefficients in Argentina and Tanzania as separate samples. The results indicated that the correlation analysis and regression analysis in both countries there is disagreement over the assumptions and showed that exchange rate, inflation rate and interest rates do not have a significant effect on the level of dollarization. This means that the theory of portfolio do not hold for the case of Tanzania and Argentina and it is suggested that because the nature of the relationship is not linear, a new research design can be developed or it simply means that the portfolio theory is incorrect. We recommend that further research be pursued using the same variables as in this study but using different forms, such as using real as opposed to using nominal values, using non-linear forms instead of using a linear estimation method. Or the search for the significant explanatory variable of dollarization and the variables could only be included in a process that calls for the formulation of new theory to replace the current theory. The new variables to be included are government quality, monetary policy agility, individual heterogeneity, domestic debt, default risk, institutional quality and financial integration.

Thesis advisor: Robert Murphy / We empirically examine the Biased Expectations Hypothesis, which states that recent price movements in certain sectors play special roles in the formation of in- dividuals inflation expectations. Specifically we analyze whether economists rationally bias their expectations and whether economists and consumers naively bias their ex- pectations with respect to recent inflation in the food and energy sectors. We develop theoretical models for both rationally formed and naively formed inflation expecta- tions. We find that economists do not bias their rationally formed expectations and that consumers and economists do not naively form inflation expectations. Our results do not support the Biased Expectations Hypothesis; rather, they reinforce the use of core measures of inflation in policy making. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics Honors Program. / Discipline: Economics.

Thesis advisor: Matteo Iacoviello / Thesis advisor: Peter Ireland / Thesis advisor: Scott Schuh / These three essays are concerned with macroeconomic and monetary policy issues relating to the housing market and inflation-targeting. The essays can be characterized as applied macroeconomics in nature as they use insights from theory to construct macroeconomic models, which are then taken to the data. The first chapter in this study utilizes microeconomic evidence that nominal loss aversion plays a role in the pricing of housing services and explores the extent to which this phenomenon in the housing sector affects the macroeconomy as a whole. A two sector Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model of housing and consumption goods with downward nominal price rigidity in the housing sector is constructed to examine how asymmetries in the nominal pricing of housing services affects monetary policy in stabilizing the economy in response to shocks. A calibration exercise is also performed to gain insight to what degree pricing dynamics in the housing sector are driven by the tendency of sellers to be nominally loss averse. The second chapter explores the disparities in the success rate in hitting an explicit inflation target among OECD and Emerging Market inflation targeters. The study proposes a framework to try to circumvent the "good luck"/"good policy" forces as drivers of better inflation-targeting outcomes by estimating a measure of central bank credibility in targeting regimes. Two main findings are that Emerging Market targeting banks are less successful than their OECD counterparts in establishing credibility in targeting inflation and that credible regimes last on the order of five to ten times as long as the relatively short-lived incredible regimes for the two groups of targeting countries. The third chapter, co-authored with Scott Schuh of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, takes a preliminary empirical step to model inflation outcomes for inflation band-targeting countries which allows us to isolate the empirical determinants of inflation escaping from the targeted band. We also use our framework to determine whether US inflation is consistent with inflation under an explicit targeting regime. Our model generates the result that US inflation during the last decade is well predicted by a model of inflation-targeting countries. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University

Thesis. 1977. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. / Bibliography : leaves 95-97. / Thesis. 1977. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alfred P. Sloan School of Management.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1983. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-142). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

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