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156 result(s)

Downward Nominal-Wage Rigidity: Micro Evidence from Tobit Models

Staff Working Paper 2001-7 Allan Crawford, Geoff Wright
This paper uses Tobit models and data for union contracts to examine the extent of downward nominal-wage rigidity in Canada. To be consistent with important stylized facts, the models allow the variance of the notional wage-change distribution to be time-varying and test for menu-cost effects.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation targets, Labour markets JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E5, E52, E6, E61
August 15, 2000

Restructuring in the Canadian Economy: A Survey of Firms

Towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, the Canadian economy experienced a number of structural changes. These included free trade agreements (both the FTA and NAFTA), significant technological advances, deregulation in many sectors of the economy, the arrival of large, U.S.-based retailers, and the introduction of the GST.

Employment Effects Of Nominal-Wage Rigidity: An Examination Using Wage-Settlements Data

Staff Working Paper 2000-14 Umar Faruqui
The argument advocating a moderate level of inflation based on the downward nominal-wage rigidity (DNWR) hypothesis rests on three factors: its presence, extent, and negative impact in the labour market. This paper focuses on the employment effect of DNWR.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Labour markets JEL Code(s): C, C2, C23, J, J2, J23, J3, J30

The Employment Costs of Downward Nominal-Wage Rigidity

Staff Working Paper 2000-1 Jean Farès, Seamus Hogan
In this paper, we use firm-level wage and employment data to address whether there is evidence of downward nominal-wage rigidity, and whether that rigidity is associated with a reduction in employment. We describe an estimation bias that can result when estimating reduced-form wage and employment equations and suggest a way of controlling for that bias. […]
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Labour markets JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, J, J2, J23, J3, J31

Dynamic Employment and Hours Effects of Government Spending Shocks

Staff Working Paper 1999-1 Mingwei Yuan, Wenli Li
In this paper, we analyze the dynamic behaviour of employment and hours worked per worker in a stochastic general equilibrium model with a matching mechanism between vacancies and unemployed workers. The model is estimated for the United States using the Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) estimation technique. An increase in government spending raises hours worked […]
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Fiscal policy, Labour markets JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E3, E32, E6, E62, J, J6, J64

Can a Matching Model Explain the Long-Run Increase in Canada's Unemployment Rate?

Staff Working Paper 1998-19 Andreas Hornstein, Mingwei Yuan
The authors construct a simple general equilibrium model of unemployment and calibrate it to the Canadian economy. Job creation and destruction are endogenous. In this model, they consider several potential factors that could contribute to the long-run increase in the Canadian unempoloyment rate: a more generous unemployment insurance system, higher layoff costs, higher discretionary taxes, […]
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Fiscal policy, Labour markets JEL Code(s): E, E2, E6, J, J4
August 13, 1998

Labour force participation in Canada: Trends and shifts

A key determinant of the potential growth of an economy is the rate at which the labour force increases, which depends both on population growth and on changes in the participation rate. Cyclical factors related to the economic environment can play a significant role in affecting the participation rate, as can structural factors and demographic trends. From the mid-1970s to the end of the 1980s, the participation rate rose almost without interruption to a record high of 67.5 per cent. In contrast, between 1990 and 1995, it declined sharply and has been relatively steady at around 65 per cent since 1995. In this article, the author analyzes the participation rate of age and gender groupings in order to better understand the factors leading to these developments and their implications for future movements in the aggregate rate. While cyclical factors contributed to the decline in the participation rate in the 1990s, structural factors (such as an increase in school attendance rates and the increasing use of computer technology) and demographic trends (the aging of the population) have had a substantial impact. The conclusion reached is that, while some recovery is to be expected, the aggregate participation rate is unlikely to return to its 1989 peak over the next decade or so.

Les marchés du travail régionaux : une comparaison entre le Canada et les États-Unis

Staff Working Paper 1997-17 Mario Lefebvre
The purpose of this study is to compare the behaviour of regional labour markets in Canada and the United States. The study shows that the degree of persistence of unemployment is significantly higher in the provinces of Canada than it is in the various American regions.

A Micro Approach to the Issue of Hysteresis in Unemployment: Evidence from the 1988­1990 Labour Market Activity Survey

Staff Working Paper 1997-12 Gordon Wilkinson
This paper uses a rich set of microeconomic labour market data—the 1988­90 Labour Market Activity Survey published by Statistics Canada—to test whether there is negative duration dependence in unemployment spells. It updates and extends similar work carried out by Jones (1995) who used the 1986­87 Labour Market Activity Survey.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Labour markets JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24
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