The National Bank Project

30/12/2021

NORCE has the research assignment for Norges Bank's Regional Network in three regions of Norway. As a senior researcher at NORCE, I have participated in the project since 2013, and been project leader for the southern region since 2018.

Regional Network

On a quarterly basis, The national bank of Norway surveys executives from over 300 enterprises and organisations about recent economic developments and the outlook ahead.

The project's interviewers normally visit contacts on-site for face-to-face discussions. A total of almost 1500 individuals are interviewed by the bank approximately once a year.

What is the purpose of the Regional Network?

The Regional Network provides information that reinforces the analyses on which Norges Bank's monetary policy decisions are based. The information from contacts has provided reliable indications of Norwegian economic developments over time.

Regularly engaging with the economy and society often provides the bank with information faster than publicly available statistics. Direct contact with executives also enables the bank to obtain nuanced and granular information that is not covered by statistics or captured in questionnaires. For that reason, both qualitative and quantitative information from network contacts is actively used in the bank's analyses and forecasting, and the reports are submitted to the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee ahead of monetary policy decisions.

Organisation

Regional Network contacts reflect the production side of the economy, both in terms of industry sector and geographical area.

Norway is divided into seven regions. Norges Bank has the overall responsibility for the network and for Region East, while regional research institutes obtain information from the rest of the country.

It is important to emphasise that the information from the Regional Network is based on some degree of judgement in terms of the companies that are contacted and the assessments of economic developments. The reports from network contacts do not represent Norges Bank's view of economic developments, nor that of a particular company.

The southern region

Region South includes the counties of Agder, Vestfold and Telemark, and the network has around 200 companies in its portfolio. Based on discussions with the leaders of the network companies, each region prepares a region report. The figures from the various regions are included in the network's national e-report.

The network publishes its national report four times a year, and the report's accuracy over time means that the regional report is described by many as Norges Bank's most important temperature gauge for the Norwegian economy.

I have been a researcher for the regional network since 2013 and led the network as project manager in Region South since 2018.

By clicking the links below you gain access to the regional network reports that have been published in recent years.

https://www.norges-bank.no/en/news-events/news-publications/Reports/Regional-network-reports/?tab=null&newstype=0&year=0