Staff discussion papers

• Who Pays? CCP Resource Provision in the Post-Pittsburgh World

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-17 Jorge Cruz Lopez, Mark Manning

  At the Pittsburgh Summit in 2009, G20 countries announced their commitment to clear all standardized over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives through central counterparties (CCPs). Since then, CCPs have become increasingly important and there has been an extensive program of regulatory enhancements to both them and OTC derivatives markets.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): G, G0, G01, G2, G28

• Central Bank Digital Currency: Motivations and Implications

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-16 Walter Engert, Ben Fung

  The emergence of digital currencies such as Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain and distribution ledger technology have attracted significant attention. These developments have raised the possibility of considerable impacts on the financial system and perhaps the wider economy.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial services, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5

• Product Sophistication and the Slowdown in Chinese Export Growth

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-15 Mark Kruger, Walter Steingress, Sri Thanabalasingam

  Chinese real export growth decelerated considerably during the last decade. This paper argues that the slowdown largely resulted from China moving to a more sophisticated mix of exports: China produced more sophisticated goods over which it had pricing power instead of producing greater volumes of less sophisticated products.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Development economics, Exchange rates, International topics JEL Code(s): F, F1, F14, F17, O, O1, O10

• Communicating Uncertainty in Monetary Policy

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-14 Sharon Kozicki, Jill Vardy

  While central banks cannot provide complete foresight with respect to their future policy actions, it is in the interests of both central banks and market participants that central banks be transparent about their reaction functions and how they may evolve in response to economic developments, shocks, and risks to their outlooks.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Credibility, Monetary policy, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Monetary policy communications JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, E6, E61, E65

• Monetary Policy Under Uncertainty: Practice Versus Theory

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-13 Rhys R. Mendes, Stephen Murchison, Carolyn A. Wilkins

  For central banks, conducting policy in an environment of uncertainty is a daily fact of life. This uncertainty can take many forms, ranging from incomplete knowledge of the correct economic model and data to future economic and geopolitical events whose precise magnitudes and effects cannot be known with certainty.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy and uncertainty JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, E6, E61, E65

• Understanding the Time Variation in Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Import Prices

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-12 Rose Cunningham, Min Jae Kim, Christian Friedrich, Kristina Hess

  In this paper, we analyze the presence of time variation in the pass-through from the nominal effective exchange rate to import prices for 24 advanced economies over the period 1995–2015. In line with earlier studies in the literature, we find substantial heterogeneity in the level of exchange rate pass-through across countries.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Exchange rates, Inflation and prices, International topics, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, F, F3, F31, F4, F41

• What’s Up with Unit Non-Response in the Bank of Canada’s Business Outlook Survey? The Effect of Staff Tenure

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-11 Sarah Miller, David Amirault, Laurent Martin

  Since 1997, the Bank of Canada’s regional offices have been conducting the Business Outlook Survey (BOS), a quarterly survey of business conditions. Survey responses are gathered through face-to-face, confidential consultations with a sample of private sector firms representative of the various sectors, firm sizes and regions across Canada.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Firm dynamics, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): C, C2, C21, C8, C81, D, D2, D22

• Fintech: Is This Time Different? A Framework for Assessing Risks and Opportunities for Central Banks

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-10 Meyer Aaron, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Samantha Sohal

  We investigate the risks and opportunities to the mandates of central banks arising from fintech developments.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, G, G1, G2, L, L1

• What Explains Month-End Funding Pressure in Canada?

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-9 Christopher S. Sutherland

  The Canadian overnight repo market persistently shows signs of latent funding pressure around month-end periods. Both the overnight repo rate and Bank of Canada liquidity provision tend to rise in these windows. This paper proposes three non-mutually exclusive hypotheses to explain this phenomenon.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial markets, Interest rates, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy implementation, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E43, E5, E52, E58, F, F3, F36, G, G1, G14, G15, G2, G21

• A Three‐Frequency Dynamic Factor Model for Nowcasting Canadian Provincial GDP Growth

  Staff Discussion Paper 2017-8 Tony Chernis, Gabriella Velasco, Calista Cheung

  This paper estimates a three‐frequency dynamic factor model for nowcasting Canadian provincial gross domestic product (GDP). Canadian provincial GDP is released by Statistics Canada on an annual basis only, with a significant lag (11 months).

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Econometric and statistical methods, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): C, C5, C53, E, E3, E32, E37, R, R1, R11