State dependent effects in labour and foreign exchange markets

Abstract

The impact of monetary policy in the short- and long-run, and over the business cycle are issues of great interest to a central bank. The response of nominal and real exchange rates to oil price fluctuations are also of particular interest to an economy that relies heavily on petroleum resources, such as the Norwegian economy. Based on Norwegian data, Qaisar Farooq Akramís dissertation addresses these issues by testing for multiple unemployment equilibria, by examining the employment behaviour in slack and tight labour markets, and by investigating the short- and long-run effects of oil prices on nominal and real exchange rates. The dissertation employs the latest techniques in econometric methodology for studying macroeconomic time series across different regimes and states. The dissertation is part of the authorís Dr. Polit exam at the University of Oslo, Department of Economics and it was defended on May 4, 2001. It is a great pleasure to mention that this dissertation has been awarded the first prize for the best Ph.D. thesis in acroeconomics submitted in Norway in the period May 1998 - April 2001 by Norges Bank Fund for Economic Research. Norges Bank is pleased to make this dissertation accessible for a wider audience.