Staff research

• June 30, 2024

  Quarterly Research Update – 2024 Q2

  This newsletter features the latest research publications by Bank of Canada economists including external publications and working papers published on the Bank of Canada’s website.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Research newsletters

• How big is cash-futures basis trading in Canada’s government bond market?

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-16 Andreas Uthemann, Rishi Vala

  Cash-futures basis trading has grown alongside the Government of Canada bond futures market. We examine this growth over time in relation to Government of Canada bond and repurchase agreement markets and provide details on the type of market participants that engage in this type of trading activity.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): D, D4, D47, D5, D53, G, G1, G12, G2, G23

• Non-bank financial intermediation: Canada’s submission to the 2023 global monitoring report

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-15 Malcolm Fisher, Alan Walsh

  We share insights from Canadian data from 2002 to 2022 that the Bank of Canada collected. The Bank submits these data each year to the Financial Stability Board for inclusion in its Global Monitoring Report on Non-Bank Financial Intermediation.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Financial institutions, Sectoral balance sheet JEL Code(s): G, G2, G21, G22, G23

• Central Bank Liquidity Policy in Modern Times

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-6 Skylar Brooks

  Across several dimensions of lender of last resort policy, I highlight broad changes that have occurred since the 2008–09 global financial crisis and discuss some of the key challenges, choices and considerations facing the designers of central bank liquidity tools today.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Lender of last resort JEL Code(s): D, D5, D53, E, E5, E58, E6, E61, G, G0, G01, G2, G21, G23, H, H1, H12

• Impacts of interest rate hikes on the consumption of households with a mortgage

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-14 Panagiotis Bouras, Joaquín Saldain, Xing Guo, Thomas Michael Pugh, Maria teNyenhuis

  We assess how much the recent rate-hike cycle has and will affect mortgage borrowers' consumption through its impacts on mortgage payments. Our analysis provides insights into the effects of changes in monetary policy on the consumption of mortgage borrowers.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Interest rates, Monetary policy, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D1, D13, E, E2, E21, G, G5

• Non-Parametric Identification and Testing of Quantal Response Equilibrium

  Staff Working Paper 2024-24 Johannes Hoelzemann, Ryan Webb, Erhao Xie

  We show that the utility function and the error distribution are non-parametrically over-identified under Quantal Response Equilibrium (QRE). This leads to a simple test for QRE. We illustrate our method in a Monte Carlo exercise and a laboratory experiment.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Economic models JEL Code(s): C, C1, C14, C5, C57, C9, C92

• Demand for Canadian Banknotes from International Travel: Indirect Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Staff Working Paper 2024-23 Hongyu Xiao

  This study uses the COVID-19 travel restrictions to estimate foreign demand for Canadian banknotes. It reveals that international visitors accounted for about 10% of all $100 CAD notes in circulation pre-pandemic, with each visitor carrying an average of $165 in hundred-dollar bills.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Central bank research, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Financial services, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E58, F, F2, F22

• The Role of Beliefs in Entering and Exiting the Bitcoin Market

  Staff Working Paper 2024-22 Daniela Balutel, Christopher Henry, Jorge Vásquez, Marcel Voia

  We develop a model that links investors’ decisions to enter or exit the Bitcoin market with their beliefs about the survival of Bitcoin. Empirical testing using Canadian data reveals that beliefs strongly influence both entries and exits, and this impact varies with time and ownership status.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E41, O, O3, O33

• Sources of pandemic-era inflation in Canada: an application of the Bernanke and Blanchard model

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-13 Fares Bounajm, Jean Garry Junior Roc, Yang Zhang

  We explore the drivers of the surge in inflation in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work is part of a joint effort by 11 central banks using the model developed by Bernanke and Blanchard (2023) to identify similarities and differences across economies.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Economic models, Inflation and prices, Labour markets JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E3, E31, E37, E5, E52, E6

• Assessing the Impact of the Bank of Canada’s Government Bond Purchases

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-5 Chinara Azizova, Jonathan Witmer, Xu Zhang

  In March 2020, the Bank of Canada implemented the Government of Canada Bond Purchase Program, eventually purchasing approximately $340 billion of government bonds. In this paper, we analyze the impact of this program on financial market prices and yields as well as on GDP and inflation.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Inflation and prices, Monetary policy, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, G, G2, G21, G28