Staff research

• Should Central Banks Adjust Their Target Horizons in Response to House-Price Bubbles?

  Staff Discussion Paper 2007-4 Meenakshi Basant Roi, Rhys R. Mendes

  The authors investigate the implications of house-price bubbles for the optimal inflation-target horizon using a dynamic general-equilibrium model with credit frictions, house-price bubbles, and small open-economy features. They find that, given the distribution of shocks and inflation persistence over the past 25 years, the optimal target horizon for Canada tends to be at the lower […]

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Credit and credit aggregates, Economic models, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E44, E5, E52, E58, E6, E61

• Vulnerabilities in Defined-Benefit Pension Plans

  Staff Discussion Paper 2007-3 Jack Selody

  An effective pension system enhances economic and financial efficiency. A majority of pension plans in Canada are defined-benefit (DB) plans, but DB plans are under stress from increasing longevity, low long-term interest rates, and the shrinking equity premium. DB plans are vulnerable to such shocks because they are complex financial vehicles, with interdependencies not fully […]

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial institutions JEL Code(s): G, G2, G23

• Implications of New Accounting Standards for the Bank of Canada's Balance Sheet

  Staff Discussion Paper 2007-2 Mark Zelmer, Grahame Johnson

  The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) has implemented new accounting standards for the valuation and reporting of financial instruments. They are effective for the Bank of Canada in 2007. As a result of these changes, the Bank has begun valuing its holdings of Government of Canada treasury bills on a fair value basis and […]

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, M, M4

• Oil Price Movements and the Global Economy: A Model-Based Assessment

  Staff Working Paper 2007-34 Selim Elekdag, René Lalonde, Douglas Laxton, Dirk Muir, Paolo Pesenti

  We develop a five-region version (Canada, an oil exporter, the United States, emerging Asia and Japan plus the euro area) of the Global Economy Model (GEM) encompassing production and trade of crude oil, and use it to study the international transmission mechanism of shocks that drive oil prices.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Inflation and prices, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E6, E66, F, F3, F32, F4, F47

• Domestic versus External Borrowing and Fiscal Policy in Emerging Markets

  Staff Working Paper 2007-33 Garima Vasishtha

  Domestic public debt issued by emerging markets has risen significantly relative to international debt in recent years. Some recent empirical evidence also suggests that sovereigns have defaulted differentially on debt held by domestic and external creditors.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Debt management, International topics JEL Code(s): F, F3, F30, H, H2, H21, H6, H63

• Computing Optimal Policy in a Timeless-Perspective: An Application to a Small-Open Economy

  Staff Working Paper 2007-32 Michel Juillard, Florian Pelgrin

  Since the contribution of Kydland and Prescott (1977), it is well known that the optimal Ramsey policy is time inconsistent. In a series of recent contributions, Woodford (2003) proposes a new methodology to circumvent this problem, namely the timeless perspective solution.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): C, C6, E, E5, E6

• Micro Foundations of Price-Setting Behaviour: Evidence from Canadian Firms

  Staff Working Paper 2007-31 Daniel de Munnik, Kuan Xu

  How do firms adjust prices in the marketplace? Do they tend to adjust prices infrequently in response to changes in market conditions? If so, why? These remain key questions in macroeconomics, particularly for central banks that work to keep inflation low and stable.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): D, D4, D40, E, E3, E30, L, L1, L11