Christopher Ragan

Author

Staff working papers

On the Believable Benefits of Low Inflation

Staff Working Paper 1998-15 Christopher Ragan
This paper reviews the existing theoretical and empirical literature addressing the benefits of low inflation. The ultimate goal is to arrive at a set of benefits in which a monetary authority can have genuine confidence. I argue that the current state of economic research—both empirical and theoretical—provides little basis for believing in significant observable benefits […]
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation: costs and benefits JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31

Deriving Agents' Inflation Forecasts from the Term Structure of Interest Rates

Staff Working Paper 1995-1 Christopher Ragan
In this paper, the author uses the term structure of nominal interest rates to construct estimates of agents' expectations of inflation over several medium-term forecast horizons. The Expectations Hypothesis is imposed together with the assumption that expected future real interest rates are given by current real rates. Under these maintained assumptions, it is possible to […]
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Interest rates

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Bank publications

Bank of Canada Review articles

December 20, 2006

Why Monetary Policy Matters: A Canadian Perspective

Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2006-2007 Christopher Ragan
This article provides answers to several key questions about Canadian monetary policy. First, what is monetary policy? Second, why does the Bank of Canada focus on the control of inflation rather than other macroeconomic variables? Third, how do the Bank's actions influence the rate of inflation? And, finally, how can monetary policy deliver genuine and significant benefits to society?
Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Inflation: costs and benefits, Monetary policy framework
October 5, 2005

The Exchange Rate and Canadian Inflation Targeting

Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2005 Christopher Ragan
An essential element of the Bank of Canada's inflation-targeting framework is a floating exchange rate that is free to adjust in response to shocks that affect the Canadian and world economies. This floating rate plays an important role in the transmission mechanism for monetary policy. A practical question is how the Bank of Canada incorporates currency movements into the monetary policy decision-making process. Only after determining the cause and persistence of exchange rate change, and its likely net effect on aggregate demand, can the Bank decide on the appropriate policy response to keep inflation low, stable, and predictable. Ragan reviews the need to target inflation and the transmission mechanism for monetary policy, including the role of the exchange rate, before describing two types of exchange rate movements and their implications for monetary policy.
Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Exchange rates, Inflation targets, Monetary policy implementation

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