OECD Economics Department Working Papers

Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.

The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.


Macroprudential Policy Tools in Norway

Strengthening Financial System Resilience

In Norway house prices have risen to high levels, associated with very strong credit growth, in a context of low interest rates. Such a combination was in many countries a contributory factor to the 2008- 09 crisis. The Norwegian authorities have been well aware of the problem. Below-target inflation and low interest rates abroad have kept policy interest rates low. “Macro-prudential” tools have been developed as additional policy instruments with a view to strengthen the banking system’s resilience to possible shocks and dampen systemic risk. This chapter notes that although authorities seem to have succeeded in containing over-heating pressures in the housing market, high levels of household indebtedness persist, a phenomenon which was an important factor in the last major Norwegian recession. The chapter also provides some longer run considerations on resource allocation in the housing market. This Working Paper relates to the 2014 OECD Economic Survey of Norway (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-norway.htm).


English

Keywords: real estate market, macroprudential policy, Norway, financial stability

JEL:
R38: Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics / Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location / Production Analysis and Firm Location: Government Policy;
G21: Financial Economics / Financial Institutions and Services / Banks; Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages;
G28: Financial Economics / Financial Institutions and Services / Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation;
R31: Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics / Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location / Housing Supply and Markets;
E51: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics / Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit / Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers;
G18: Financial Economics / General Financial Markets / General Financial Markets: Government Policy and Regulation;
H2: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue