Talking to the inattentive public: How the media translates the Reserve Bank’s communications

Central bank communication is widely recognised as crucial to the implementation of monetary policy. This communication should enhance a central bank’s management of the inflation expectations of the financial markets as well as the general public — the latter being a part of the central bank’s audience that has received relatively little research attention. In this paper, the role of the media in transmitting the SARB’s communication to the general public is explored, with the aim of improving our understanding of its impact on the expectations channel of the monetary policy transmission mechanism. A deliberate evaluation of this channel could aid the design of future strategies to communicate with the general public.South Africa, central bank communication, consistency, monetary policy transmission mechanism, transparent monetary policy.

Loud and clear? Can we hear when the SARB speaks?

Inflation targeting is a forward-looking framework for monetary policy that has brought unprecedented transparency to the process of monetary policy. This paper aims to assess the degree to which the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has, since the introduction of inflation targeting, successfully communicated to the public its policy analysis, and, in particular, the expected future policy changes. This paper follows international literature (Rosa and Verga (2007), Ehrmann and Fratszcher (2005)) in constructing a numerical index that is used to reflect the information content of the SARB’s communications, specifically the monetary policy statements that accompanied each of the MPC meetings since 2000. Relating this index to subsequent policy decisions reveals the informativeness of the index and, by implication, the informativeness of the underlying monetary policy statements. This method allows us to judge, systematically, the degree to which the MPC has communicated successfully, and the evolution of that success over the past nine years. We find evidence that the MPC has succeeded in signalling their likely future policy decision with consistency over this period.South Africa, Inflation targeting, Central bank communication, Effective monetary policy, forward-looking policy framework

Talking to the inattentive Public: How the media translates the Reserve Bank’s communications

Central bank communication is widely recognised as crucial to the implementation of monetary policy. This communication should enhance a central bank’s management of the inflation expectations of the financial markets as well as the general public – the latter being a part of the central bank’s audience that has received relatively little research attention. In this paper, the role of the media in transmitting the SARB’s communication to the general public is explored, with the aim of improving our understanding of its impact on the expectations channel of the monetary policy transmission mechanism. A deliberate evaluation of this channel could aid the design of future strategies to communicate with the general public.South Africa, central bank communication, consistency, monetary policy transmission mechanism, transparent monetary policy

Perspective: Gastronomy

This project is made possible with funding by the Government of Ontario and through eCampusOntario’s support of the Virtual Learning Strategy.https://doi.org/10.22215/fsmmm/bs03pubpu

The seroprevalence and factors associated with Ross River virus infection in Western Grey Kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) in Western Australia

A serosurvey was undertaken in 15 locations in the midwest to southwest of Western Australia (WA) to investigate the seroprevalence of Ross River virus (RRV) neutralizing antibodies and factors associated with infection in western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus). The estimated seroprevalence in 2632 kangaroo samples, using a serum neutralization test, was 43.9% (95% CI 42.0, 45.8). Location was significantly associated with seroprevalence (p 0.05). The results of this study indicate that kangaroos in WA are regularly infected with RRV and may be involved in the maintenance and transmission of RRV

Nursing and community rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among students in Harare, Zimbabwe.

BACKGROUND: African hospitals have experienced major increases in admissions for tuberculosis, but they are ill-equipped to prevent institutional transmission. We compared institutional rates and community rates of tuberculin skin test (TST) conversion in Harare, Zimbabwe. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study of TST conversion 6, 12, and 18 months into training among 159 nursing and 195 polytechnic school students in Harare. Students had negative TST results (induration diameter, or =10 mm) per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.2-26.2 conversions per 100 person-years), and polytechnic school students experienced 6.0 (95% CI, 3.5-10.4) conversions per 100 person-years. The rate of difference was 13.2 conversions (95% CI, 6.5-20.0) per 100 person-years. With a more stringent definition of conversion (increase in the induration diameter of > or =10 mm to at least 15 mm), which is likely to increase specificity but decrease sensitivity, conversion rates were 12.5 and 2.8 conversions per 100 person-years in nursing and polytechnic school students, respectively (rate difference, 9.7 conversions per 100 person-years; 95% CI, 4.5-14.8 conversions per 100 person-years). Nursing students reportedly nursed 20,868 inpatients with tuberculosis during 315 person-years of training. CONCLUSIONS: Both groups had high TST conversion rates, but the extremely high rates among nursing students imply high occupational exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Intense exposure to inpatients with tuberculosis was reported during training. Better prevention, surveillance, and management of institutional M. tuberculosis transmission need to be supported as part of the international response to the severe human immunodeficiency virus infection epidemic and health care worker crisis in Africa

The Effects on Milk Yield and Composition, and Animal Nitrogen and Phosphorus Status, of Offering Early-Lactation Dairy Cows Concentrate Feeds of Differing Crude Protein and Phosphorus Concentrations

Milk composition is affected by the dietary concentration of crude protein (CP) (Kung Jr and Huber 1983) and minerals such as phosphorus (P) (Wu and Satter 2000). Milk composition has consequent effects on the processing properties of milk (Dillon et al. 1997). The objective of this study was to determine the effects of offering supplementary concentrate feeds differing in CP and P concentration to lactating dairy cows in the early lactation period (Feb-May) on milk yield and composition, and on animal nitrogen (N) and P status

Teaching Matters, Volume 2: Essays by the faculty and staff at the University of Maine at Farmington

Essays by the faculty and staff at the University of Maine at Farmington.https://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/publications/1087/thumbnail.jp

The past and future roles of competition and habitat in the range-wide occupancy dynamics of Northern Spotted Owls

Slow ecological processes challenge conservation. Short-term variability can obscure the importance of slower processes that may ultimately determine the state of a system. Furthermore, management actions with slow responses can be hard to justify. One response to slow processes is to explicitly concentrate analysis on state dynamics. Here, we focus on identifying drivers of Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) territorial occupancy dynamics across 11 study areas spanning their geographic range and forecasting response to potential management actions. Competition with Barred Owls (Strix varia) has increased Spotted Owl territory extinction probabilities across all study areas and driven recent declines in Spotted Owl populations. Without management intervention, the Northern Spotted Owl subspecies will be extirpated from parts of its current range within decades. In the short term, Barred Owl removal can be effective. Over longer time spans, however, maintaining or improving habitat conditions can help promote the persistence of northern spotted owl populations. In most study areas, habitat effects on expected Northern Spotted Owl territorial occupancy are actually greater than the effects of competition from Barred Owls. This study suggests how intensive management actions (removal of a competitor) with rapid results can complement a slower management action (i.e., promoting forest succession)