Posts

• Qualitative Field Research in Monetary Policy Making

  Staff Discussion Paper 2021-1 Chris D'Souza, Jane Voll

  Central banks conduct research involving in-depth interviews with external parties—but little is known about how this information affects monetary policy. We address this gap by analyzing open-ended interviews with senior central bank economic and policy staff who work closely with policy decision-makers.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Monetary policy, Monetary policy and uncertainty JEL Code(s): C, C8, C83, E, E3, E37, E5, E52

• Using Payments Data to Nowcast Macroeconomic Variables During the Onset of COVID-19

  Staff Working Paper 2021-2 James Chapman, Ajit Desai

  We use retail payment data in conjunction with machine learning techniques to predict the effects of COVID-19 on the Canadian economy in near-real time. Our model yields a significant increase in macroeconomic prediction accuracy over a linear benchmark model.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C5, C53, C55, E, E3, E37, E4, E42, E5, E52
• January 20, 2021

  Monetary Policy Report Press Conference Opening Statement

  Opening statement Tiff Macklem Ottawa, Ontario

  Governor Tiff Macklem discusses key issues involved in the Governing Council’s deliberations about the policy rate decision and the MPR.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Opening statements
• January 20, 2021

  Bank of Canada will hold current level of policy rate until inflation objective is achieved, continues quantitative easing

  Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario

  The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent, with the Bank Rate at ½ percent and the deposit rate at ¼ percent.

  Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
• January 20, 2021

  Monetary Policy Report – January 2021

  

  While a second wave of COVID-19 is hurting Canadians now, the economy should rebound strongly later in the year. The Bank is forecasting growth of around 4 percent this year and close to 5 percent in 2022.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Monetary Policy Report
• January 11, 2021

  Operational details for upcoming secondary market purchases of Government of Canada securities (January 18-January 28)

  As previously announced, the Bank of Canada (the Bank) launched on April 1, 2020 a program to purchase Government of Canada securities in the secondary market – the Government Bond Purchase Program (GBPP).

  Content Type(s): Press, Market notices Source(s): Government of Canada Bond Purchase Program
• January 11, 2021

  Backgrounder on Business Outlook Survey data by region, sector and firm size

  Every quarter, the Bank of Canada surveys about 100 firms and publishes the resulting narrative and related data in the Business Outlook Survey (BOS). Firms are asked to participate based on several criteria—most importantly, their region, sector and size.

  Content Type(s): Background materials
• January 11, 2021

  Business Outlook Survey—Winter 2020–21

  In the winter Business Outlook Survey, firms pointed to a continued recovery supported by strengthening domestic and foreign demand, particularly in goods-producing sectors. Still, firms expect the recovery to be uneven; in particular, businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic anticipate challenging times ahead.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Business Outlook Survey
• January 11, 2021

  Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations—Fourth Quarter of 2020

  The Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations (CSCE) collects respondents’ views on inflation, the labour market and household finances. The survey for the fourth quarter of 2020 was conducted from November 10 to December 1, 2020. This period coincides with a sharp increase in COVID‑19 cases across Canada and follows announcements about the development of effective vaccines. Since the survey was conducted, some provinces have imposed additional measures to contain the spread of the virus. In addition, the first vaccines have begun to be administered. Like the previous two surveys, the fourth-quarter survey included questions on the impacts of COVID‑19 and the measures to contain its spread. This survey also asked respondents how they used any benefits they received from income-support programs that governments put in place to help them through the pandemic. This quarter, the report provides some details by demographic characteristics.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations

• Allocative Efficiency and the Productivity Slowdown

  Staff Working Paper 2021-1 Lin Shao, Rongsheng Tang

  In our analysis of the US productivity slowdown in the 1970s and 2000s, we find that a significant portion of this deceleration can be attributed to a lack of improvement in allocative efficiency across sectors. Our analysis further identifies increased sector-level volatility as a major contributor to this lack of improvement in allocative efficiency.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E2, E23, O, O4, O47