Staff working papers

• Les provinces canadiennes et la convergence : une évaluation empirique

  Staff Working Paper 1994-10 Mario Lefebvre

  This paper examines whether the hypothesis of economic convergence holds for the Canadian provinces. Using data on real gross domestic product per capita and on factor productivity from 1966 to 1992, the paper shows, using two different methods, that the convergence hypothesis cannot be rejected. This evidence supports the findings of other authors who have studied convergence among Canadian provinces.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Recent economic and financial developments

• Symétrie des chocs touchant les régions canadiennes et choix d'un régime de change

  Staff Working Paper 1994-9 Alain DeSerres, René Lalonde

  The authors attempt to determine whether the primary advantage of the flexible exchange rate between Canada and the United States—the rapid adjustment of the real exchange rate following an asymmetrical shock—is as evident at the regional as at the national level.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rates

• An Empirical Investigation into Government Spending and Private Sector Behaviour

  Staff Working Paper 1994-8 Robert Amano, Tony S. Wirjanto

  We examine whether there is a significant relationship between government and private consumption for Canada. We derive estimating equations between the two types of consumption under both cointegration and no-cointegration assumptions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Recent economic and financial developments

• L'endettement du secteur privé au Canada: un examen macroéconomique

  Staff Working Paper 1994-7 Jean-François Fillion

  In this study, the author examines the hypothesis of private-sector debt overhang, which suggests that households and businesses may on occasion find themselves holding too much debt and so decide to reduce it by cutting back expenditures. His aim is to determine whether this hypothesis can help explain the weakness of credit growth and the sluggishness of the recent economic recovery in Canada.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Sectoral balance sheet

• The Dynamic Behaviour of Canadian Imports and the Linear-Quadratic Model: Evidence Based on the Euler Equation

  Staff Working Paper 1994-6 Robert Amano, Tony S. Wirjanto

  We examine the ability of the simple linear-quadratic model under rational expectations to explain dynamic behaviour of aggregate Canadian imports. In contrast to authors of previous studies who examine dynamic behaviour using the LQ model, we estimate the structural parameters using the Euler equation in a limited information framework that does not require an explicit solution for the model's control variables in terms of the exogenous forcing variables.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Recent economic and financial developments

• Exchange Rate Volatility and Trade: A Survey

  Staff Working Paper 1994-5 Agathe Côté

  This paper provides an extensive survey of the literature on exchange rate volatility and trade, examining both the theory that underlies the work in this area and the results of empirical studies published since 1988.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rates

• An Up-to-Date and Improved BVAR Model of the Canadian Economy

  Staff Working Paper 1994-4 Daniel Racette, Jacques Raynauld, Christian Sigouin

  In this paper, we estimate a fully optimized BVAR model of the Canadian economy for the period 1971-87. The model is well-adapted to the features of a small open economy. We show how it can be used as an input in the monetary policy process either as a forecasting instrument or an analytical tool.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models

• The Term Structure and Real Activity in Canada

  Staff Working Paper 1994-3 Barry Cozier, Greg Tkacz

  This paper examines the predictive content of the term structure of interest rates for economic activity in Canada. Recent papers for the United States and other countries find that the slope of the term structure is a very good predictor of output growth.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Interest rates, Monetary and financial indicators

• A Further Analysis of Exchange Rate Targeting in Canada

  Staff Working Paper 1994-2 Robert Amano, Tony S. Wirjanto

  In a recent paper Mercenier and Sekkat (1988) conclude that the Bank of Canada has followed a policy of exchange rate targeting using the money supply. We re-examine their results using a different estimation approach and with different assumptions about the forcing process of the exogenous variables.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rates

• Optimum Currency Areas and Shock Asymmetry: A Comparison of Europe and the United States

  Staff Working Paper 1994-1 Nick Chamie, Alain DeSerres, René Lalonde

  Since the early 1980s, models based on economic fundamentals have been poor at explaining the movements in the exchange rate (Messe 1990). In response to this problem, Frankel and Froot (1988) developed a model that uses two approaches to forecast the exchange rate: the fundamentalist approach, which bases the forecast on economic fundamentals, and the chartist approach, which bases the forecast on the past behaviour of the exchange rate.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rates, Financial markets JEL Code(s): C, C4, C40, G, G1, G12