Researcher Profiles Jonathan Kearns

Financial Stability Department
Current research interests: banking, financial stability, macroeconomics, international finance, event studies
Contact: kearnsj@rba.gov.au
Jonathan is Head of Financial Stability Department. He has previously been Head of Economic Analysis Department, Head of Economic Research Department and Deputy Head of Domestic Financial Markets Department. He has also worked at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel. His published research has mainly been in the fields of international finance and macroeconomics. Jonathan has a PhD from MIT and a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from the Australian National University.
Academic publications
- ‘Monetary Policy's Rising FX Impact in the Era of Ultra-low Rates’ Journal of Banking and Finance, 129, pp 106–142.
- ‘How Risky is Australian Household Debt?’ Australian Economic Review, 54(3), pp 313–330.
- ‘The Impact of Monetary Policy on the Exchange Rate: A Study Using Intraday Data’ International Journal of Central Banking, 2(4), pp 157–183.
- ‘Commodity Currencies: Why Are Exchange Rate Futures Biased If Commodity Futures Are Not?’ Economic Record, 83(260), pp 60–73.
- ‘Fear of Sudden Stops: Lessons from Australia and Chile’ The Journal of Policy Reform, 8(4), pp 313–354.
- ‘Identifying the Efficacy of Central Bank Intervention: Evidence from Australia and Japan’ Journal of International Economics, 66(1), pp 31–48.
Other Research Papers
- ‘How Risky is Australian Household Debt?’ RBA Research Discussion Paper No 2020-05.
- ‘Explaining Monetary Spillovers: The Matrix Reloaded’ RBA Research Discussion Paper No 2019-03, BIS Working Paper No 757.
- ‘Monetary Policy' Rising FX Impact in the Era of Ultra-low Rates’ CEPR Discussion Paper No 11918.
- ‘Global Inflation Forecasts’ BIS Working Paper No 582.
- ‘Australia' Prosperous 2000s: Housing and the Mining Boom’ RBA Conference – The Australian Economy in the 2000s, Sydney, 15–16 August.
- ‘Lessons from the Financial Crisis: An Australian Perspective’ Bank of Israel Conference – The Great Recession: Lessons for Central Bankers, Jerusalem, 31 March–1 April.
- ‘Promoting Liquidity: Why and How?’ RBA Conference – Lessons from the Financial Turmoil of 2007 and 2008, Sydney, 14–15 July.
- ‘Forecasting with Factors: The Accuracy of Timeliness’ RBA Research Discussion Paper No 2007-03.
- ‘The Australian Post-war Business Cycle: A Coincident Indicator Approach’ RBA Conference – The Changing Nature of the Business Cycle, Sydney, 11–12 July.
- ‘Long-term Patterns in Australia' Terms of Trade’ RBA Research Discussion Paper No 2005-01.
- ‘The Profitability of Speculators in Currency Futures Markets’ RBA Research Discussion Paper No 2004-07.
- ‘Identifying the Efficacy of Central Bank Intervention: The Australian Case’ RBA Research Discussion Paper No 2003-04, NBER Working Paper 9062.
- ‘The Distribution and Measurement of Inflation’ RBA Research Discussion Paper No 9810.
Policy Publications
- ‘Does the Financial Channel of Exchange Rates Offset the Trade Channel?’ BIS Quarterly Review, December, pp 95–113.
- ‘(Why) Is Investment Weak?’ BIS Quarterly Review, March, pp 67–82.
- ‘Oil and Debt’ BIS Quarterly Review, March, pp 55–65.
- ‘The Australian Money Market in a Global Crisis’ RBA Bulletin, June, pp 15–27.