Richard Dion - Latest

• Understanding Productivity: A Review of Recent Technical Research

  Staff Discussion Paper 2008-3 Richard Dion, Robert Fay

  The authors provide an extensive review of the rapidly expanding research on productivity, both at the macro and micro levels. They focus primarily on papers written about Canada, but also draw on selected studies from other countries, especially the United States, where such work sheds important light on particular aspects of productivity growth. The authors […]

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Productivity JEL Code(s): D, D2, D24, O, O3, O31, O4, O40, O47
• June 15, 2007

  Interpreting Canada's Productivity Performance in the Past Decade: Lessons from Recent Research

  Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2007 Richard Dion

  Dion examines the evolution of Canadian productivity since the mid-1990s, using the United States as a benchmark. During this period, trend productivity growth in Canada remained modest, whereas the U.S. witnessed a strong resurgence. Among the factors identified as potential root causes of Canada's lower productivity performance are a lower investment in information and communications technology, reallocation and adjustment costs associated with large relative price movements, and a weak demand for innovation.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Productivity, Recent economic and financial developments
• October 25, 2005

  Exports, Imports, and the Appreciation of the Canadian Dollar

  Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2005 Richard Dion, Michel Laurence, Yi Zheng

  An objective assessment of the effects of the appreciation of the Canadian dollar in 2003 and 2004 on exports and imports requires a detailed review of the numerous other factors which may have been at play. Dion, Laurence, and Zheng discuss the influences that have affected Canada's international trade over the past two years, including exchange rate movements, global and sector-specific shocks, constraints on the domestic supply of a few products, and competition from emerging economies, most notably, China. The analysis is complemented with econometric models developed at the Bank which provide statistically valid estimates of the contribution of the Canadian-dollar appreciation to the recent developments in exports and imports.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Balance of payments and components, Exchange rates, International topics
• November 22, 2003

  Recent Labour Market Developments in Canada

  Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2003 Richard Dion, Bill Laur

  In the year and a half leading up to mid-2003, both employment and labour force participation increased at an unusually rapid pace compared to domestic economic activity. Gains in employment were unusually large, relative to output growth, compared to gains in total hours worked. This is explained by a faster rate of increase in the participation rate of the 55 and older age group, many of whom opted for part-time employment. This shift in the composition of employment contributed to a reduction in the length of the average workweek in 2002. As a result, labour input progressed at a rate that was markedly slower than for employment and more in line with its historical relationship to output growth. The authors anticipate that the 55 and older age group will continue to participate strongly in the labour force, but that as the economy rebounds and uncertainty diminishes, the cyclical component in the growth of part-time work should diminish and that of full-time employment increase. Employment growth should moderate in relation to output growth and there may be a cyclical rebound in labour productivity as total hours worked increases during the initial recovery in output growth.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Labour markets
• December 14, 1999

  Trends in Canada's Merchandise Trade

  Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1999–2000 Richard Dion

  The author examines aspects of Canada's trade performance in light of the major trends seen in world trade over the past several decades. Canada has become more integrated with the world economy, and this openness is evident from its greater export orientation, its heavier reliance on imported inputs, and more exposure to foreign competition in its domestic markets. The author analyzes the composition of Canadian trade and the trend towards increasing two-way trade in similar products. He also looks at the increasing integration of trade within regions, which for Canada has meant a greater concentration of exports with the United States.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): International topics

• Indicator Models of Core Inflation for Canada

  Staff Working Paper 1999-13 Richard Dion

  When there is uncertainty about estimates of the margin of unused capacity in the economy, examining a range of inflation indicators may help in assessing the balance of risks regarding the outlook for inflation. This paper tests a wide range of observable variables for their leading-indicator properties with respect to core inflation, including: commodity prices, […]

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation and prices JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E37
• December 12, 1997

  Potential output growth: Some long-term projections

  Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1997-1998 John Kuszczak, Richard Dion

  This article examines factors that have affected the growth of potential output since the 1950s and presents three possible scenarios for its growth in the future. The authors conclude that there will be a marked slowing in the future growth of potential output as a result of slow population growth and a reduction in labour force participation as the population ages.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Potential output

• An Econometric Model of the Steel Trade

  Technical Report No. 33 Richard Dion

  In this report, the author uses steel as a case study for an analysis at the industrial level of forces at work in the international economy that have had an important impact on recent Canadian economic performance. Prominent among those forces are cost competitiveness and aggregate demand in Canada and abroad.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Balance of payments and components, Economic models JEL Code(s): C, C5, C51, F, F1, F14