Posts
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June 21, 2007
Global Integration, Monetary Policy, and the International Monetary System
Now, Manitoba – right in the middle of our vast country – might seem an odd place to talk about globalization. But this province, like the rest of Canada, is very much affected by global economic forces. -
June 21, 2007
Financial System Review - June 2007
The Financial System Review is one vehicle that the Bank of Canada uses to contribute to the strength of the Canadian financial system. The Developments and Trends section of the Review aims to provide analysis and discussion of current developments and trends in the Canadian financial sector.
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June 19, 2007
Change to the Official Time Base Reference Period for the Canadian Consumer Price Index: Implications for Government of Canada Real Return Bonds
Today, along with the release of the consumer price index (CPI) for May 2007, Statistics Canada converted the official time base reference period for the CPI (the period for which the value 100 is assigned to the index) from 1992 to 2002 . This conversion was previously announced on 23 January 2007. -
June 17, 2007
Trend Labour Supply in Canada: Implications of Demographic Shifts and the Increasing Labour Force Attachment of Women
While demographic change has been an ongoing process in Canada, labour market implications of an aging population will become more acute in coming years. This article discusses the anticipated slowing in the growth of trend labour input over the coming decades with the aging of the baby boomers, declining fertility rates, and the stabilization of the labour force attachment of women. As the pool of labour shrinks, employers and governments will be looking for ways to address barriers to continued labour force participation and firms will have a greater incentive to find ways of improving labour productivity. -
June 15, 2007
Interpreting Canada's Productivity Performance in the Past Decade: Lessons from Recent Research
Dion examines the evolution of Canadian productivity since the mid-1990s, using the United States as a benchmark. During this period, trend productivity growth in Canada remained modest, whereas the U.S. witnessed a strong resurgence. Among the factors identified as potential root causes of Canada's lower productivity performance are a lower investment in information and communications technology, reallocation and adjustment costs associated with large relative price movements, and a weak demand for innovation. -
June 14, 2007
Efficiency and Competition in Canadian Banking
Allen and Engert report on recent research at the Bank of Canada on various aspects of efficiency in the Canadian banking industry. This research suggests that, overall, Canadian banks appear to be relatively efficient producers of financial services and they do not exercise monopoly or collusive-oligopoly power. The authors note the value of continuing to investigate opportunities to improve efficiency and competition in financial services in Canada. -
June 14, 2007
Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2007
Cover page
Decimalization in Great Britain
The Victorian florin on the cover is part of the National Currency Collection of the Bank of Canada.
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June 13, 2007
Demographics, Labour Input, and Economic Potential: Implications for Monetary Policy
Over the years, we at the Bank of Canada have learned that the best contribution that monetary policy can make to the economic welfare of Canadians is to keep inflation low, stable, and predictable. We try to keep the annual increase in consumer price inflation at 2 per cent, which is the middle of a 1 to 3 per cent inflation-control range.