Cost shifting: an empirical examination of hospital bureaucracy

The paper investigates which factors determine the expected real long-term interest rates of the G7-countries as a whole within a single equation error correction model. Inflationary expectations are generated using the low frequency component of inflation provided by the Hodrick-Prescott filter. A comparison of the calculated expected inflation rates with those resulting from index-linked and conventional UK bonds suggests this approach to be appropriate. Expected real long-term interest rates turn out to be influenced positively by real short-term interest rates, capacity utilization and structural public borrowing.