Productivity

• December 24, 2021

  Understanding the output gap

  The output gap is the difference between what an economy actually produces and what it would produce in an ideal world.

  Content Type(s): Explainers Topic(s): Productivity
• December 24, 2021

  Understanding productivity

  High productivity helps raise our standard of living and keep our economy competitive.

  Content Type(s): Explainers Topic(s): Productivity

• Job Applications and Labour Market Flows

  Staff Working Paper 2021-49 Serdar Birinci, Kurt See, Shu Lin Wee

  Although the number of job applications has risen, job-finding rates remain relatively unchanged while job-separation rates have significantly declined. Rather than raising the probability of finding a job, we find that a rise in applications raises the probability of finding a good match, as evidenced by the decline in separation rates.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Labour markets, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J6, J63, J64
• June 10, 2021

  Going digital has helped the economy through COVID-19

  Speech summary Timothy Lane Western Canadian Chapters of Advocis Edmonton, Alberta, Vancouver, British Columbia, Winnipeg, Manitoba

  Deputy Governor Timothy Lane talks about the Bank’s decision yesterday to leave the policy rate unchanged. He also discusses how adopting digital technologies supported resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Inflation and prices, Interest rates, Labour markets, Monetary policy, Potential output, Productivity, Recent economic and financial developments
• June 10, 2021

  The digital transformation and Canada’s economic resilience

  Remarks (delivered virtually) Timothy Lane Advocis Western Canada Chapters Edmonton, Alberta, Vancouver, British Columbia, Winnipeg, Manitoba

  Deputy Governor Tim Lane talks about the Bank’s latest interest rate announcement and discusses how the digital transformation has supported resilience through the pandemic and may be adding to the economy’s growth potential.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Inflation and prices, Interest rates, Labour markets, Monetary policy, Potential output, Productivity, Recent economic and financial developments

• Overlooking the online world: Does mismeasurement of the digital economy explain the productivity slowdown?

  Staff Analytical Note 2021-10 Alejandra Bellatin, Stephanie Houle

  Since the mid-2000s, labour productivity has slowed down in Canada despite enormous technological advances that were expected to improve it. This note investigates whether mismeasurement of the digital economy can explain this paradox.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E0, E01, L, L8, L86, O, O3, O33, O4, O5, O51

• Four Decades of Canadian Earnings Inequality and Dynamics Across Workers and Firms

  Staff Working Paper 2021-20 Audra Bowlus, Émilien Gouin-Bonenfant, Huju Liu, Lance Lochner, Youngmin Park

  We use four decades of Canadian matched employer-employee data to explore how inequality and the dynamics of individual earnings have evolved over time in Canada. We also examine how the earnings growth of individuals is related to the growth of their employers.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Firm dynamics, Labour markets, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, D3, D31, E, E2, E24, J, J2, J24, J3, J31, J6, J63

• Potential output and the neutral rate in Canada: 2021 update

  Staff Analytical Note 2021-6 Dany Brouillette, Guyllaume Faucher, Martin Kuncl, Austin McWhirter, Youngmin Park

  We expect potential output growth to be higher than in the October 2020 reassessment. By 2024, growth will be slightly above its average growth from 2010 to 2019. We assess that the Canadian nominal neutral rate continues to lie in the range of 1.75 to 2.75 percent.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Economic models, Interest rates, Labour markets, Monetary policy, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E2, E23, E24, E3, E37, E4, E43, E5, E52

• Assessing global potential output growth and the US neutral rate: April 2021

  Staff Analytical Note 2021-5 Thomas J. Carter, Xin Scott Chen, Ali Jaffery, Christopher Hajzler, Jonathan Lachaine, Peter Shannon, Subrata Sarker, Graeme Westwood, Beiling Yan

  We expect global potential output growth to rise to 3 percent by 2022. Relative to the last assessment in October 2020, potential output growth has been revised up across all the regions. The range of the US neutral rate remains unchanged relative to the autumn 2020 assessment.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Interest rates, Monetary policy, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E1, E2, E4, E5, F, F0, O, O4

• Trade and Market Power in Product and Labor Markets

  Staff Working Paper 2021-17 Gaelan MacKenzie

  Trade liberalizations increase the sales and input purchases of productive firms relative to their less productive domestic competitors. This reallocation affects firms’ market power in their product and input markets. I quantify how the labour market power of employers affects the distribution and size of the gains from trade.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Labour markets, Market structure and pricing, Productivity, Trade integration JEL Code(s): D, D4, D43, F, F1, F12, F6, J, L, L1, L13