The Efficiency Wage Hypothesis and monetary policy channels of transmission: developments and progress of Basel III leverage ratios

It is argued that “ the ascendency of the emerging economies changed the relative returns to labor and capital – and that because these economies’ global integration has made labor more abundant, workers in developed countries have lost some of their bargaining power – thus putting downward pressure on real wages.” Central bankers’ misunderstanding of certain monetary implications have also been highlighted in that by keeping interest rates too low, they allowed a build up of excess liquidity which flowed into the prices of assets such as homes – contributing to the build up leading to the 2007-2009 global Financial Crisis. The introduction of the 2010 Basel III leverage ratios was intended not only to address shortcomings of the previous Basel capital framework, but also intended to serve as a complement to the risk based capital adequacy framework. However, as with many implementation challenges, other issues which involve calibration between the risk based and leverage based frameworks continue to constitute areas of concern for regulators – and supervisors. So also matters relating to disclosures – as evidenced by ongoing initiatives in respect of Pillar 3. This paper aims to highlight progress and developments being made since 2010 – as well as accentuate challenges still being encountered by the leverage based framework. Herein lies the importance of continued collaborative efforts aimed at facilitating comparability, consistency, understanding and communication between national and federal regulators and supervisors from different jurisdictions – in efforts aimed at realizing Basel III initiatives and objectives.