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2401
result(s)
Futures Markets, Oil Prices and the Intertemporal Approach to the Current Account
Staff Working Paper 2008-48
Elif Arbatli
The intertemporal approach to the current account suggests modeling movements in the current account in a forward-looking, dynamic framework. In this framework, the current account reflects consumption smoothing of agents that lend and borrow from the rest of the world in the face of transitory shocks to income.
Content Type(s):
Staff research,
Staff working papers
Topic(s):
Balance of payments and components
JEL Code(s):
C,
C2,
C22,
F,
F2,
F21,
F3,
F32,
G,
G1,
G13
How Important Is Liquidity Risk for Sovereign Bond Risk Premia? Evidence from the London Stock Exchange
Staff Working Paper 2008-47
Ron Alquist
This paper uses the framework of arbitrage-pricing theory to study the relationship between liquidity risk and sovereign bond risk premia. The London Stock Exchange in the late 19th century is an ideal laboratory in which to test the proposition that liquidity risk affects the price of sovereign debt.
Content Type(s):
Staff research,
Staff working papers
Topic(s):
Financial markets,
International topics
JEL Code(s):
F,
F2,
F21,
F3,
F34,
F36,
G,
G1,
G12,
G15
Indebtedness and the Household Financial Health: An Examination of the Canadian Debt Service Ratio Distribution
Staff Working Paper 2008-46
Umar Faruqui
The household debt-to-disposable income ratio in Canada increased from 110 per cent in 1999 to 127 per cent in 2007. This increase has raised questions about the ability of households to service their increased debt if faced with a negative economic or socio-economic shock.
Content Type(s):
Staff research,
Staff working papers
Topic(s):
Financial stability,
Monetary and financial indicators
JEL Code(s):
D,
D1,
D11,
D14,
D3,
D39
A Survey and Risk Analysis of Selected Non-Bank Retail Payments Systems
Staff Discussion Paper 2008-17
Nikil Chande
Payment services offered by non-banks have flourished in recent years. The author provides an overview of the different kinds of non-bank retail payments schemes currently available in Canada, illustrating each by focusing on a specific example.
Content Type(s):
Staff research,
Staff discussion papers
Topic(s):
Financial services,
Payment clearing and settlement systems
JEL Code(s):
D,
D1,
D14,
G,
G2,
G20
Firm Size and Productivity
Staff Working Paper 2008-45
Danny Leung,
Césaire Meh,
Yaz Terajima
This paper examines the relationship between firm size and productivity. In contrast to previous studies, this paper offers evidence of the relationship not only from manufacturing firms, but from non-manufacturing firms as well.
Content Type(s):
Staff research,
Staff working papers
Topic(s):
Productivity
JEL Code(s):
L,
L1,
L11,
L2,
L25,
O,
O4,
O47
November 11, 2008
The Role of Dealers in Providing Interday Liquidity in the Canadian-Dollar Market
Access to information about the future direction of the exchange rate can be extremely valuable in the foreign exchange market. Evidence presented in this article suggests that Canadian dealers are more likely to provide interday liquidity to foreign, rather than Canadian, financial customers, since foreign financial flows can be more informative about future movements in the exchange rate. The author reveals a statistical relationship between the supply of liquidity provided by non-financial firms and that provided by dealing institutions across time, and across markets, and suggests that the relationship between the positions of commercial clients and market-makers, and the role played by dealers in interday liquidity provision, has been understated in the market microstructure literature.
Content Type(s):
Publications,
Bank of Canada Review articles
Topic(s):
Exchange rates,
Financial institutions,
Financial markets,
Market structure and pricing
November 11, 2008
Merchants' Costs of Accepting Means of Payment: Is Cash the Least Costly?
In a competitive sales environment, merchants are compelled to offer consumers the option of paying for goods and services using a variety of payment methods, including cash, debit card, or credit card. Each method entails different costs and benefits to merchants. To better understand the costs of accepting retail payments, the Bank of Canada surveyed over 500 Canadian merchants and found that most consider cash the least costly. This article investigated this perception by calculating the variable costs per transaction of accepting different means of payment. The findings are that costs for each payment method vary by merchant and transaction value, with debit cards the least costly payment for a broad cross-section of merchants.
Content Type(s):
Publications,
Bank of Canada Review articles
Topic(s):
Bank notes
November 11, 2008
The Market Impact of Forward-Looking Policy Statements: Transparency vs. Predictability
Central banks continuously strive to improve how they communicate to financial markets and the public in order to increase transparency. For this reason, many central banks have begun to include guidance on the policy rate in the form of forward-looking statements in their communications. This article examines the debate over the usefulness of providing such statements from both theoretical and empirical standpoints. The evidence presented here suggests that the use of forward-looking statements in Bank of Canada communications has made the Bank more predictable, but not necessarily more transparent.
Content Type(s):
Publications,
Bank of Canada Review articles
Topic(s):
Central bank research,
Interest rates,
Monetary policy transmission
November 11, 2008
Conference Summary: International Experience with the Conduct of Monetary Policy under Inflation Targeting
Central bankers from inflation-targeting and non-inflation-targeting countries around the world and several distinguished scholars assembled at the Bank of Canada in July 2008 to review the international experience in some detail. This article highlights topics covered in the special lectures and sessions, including how inflation targeting can manage external shocks, various ways in which monetary policy decisions are taken, and the issues of transparency and communications. It also reports on the discussion in the closing panel, which considered options for the future of inflation targeting.
Content Type(s):
Publications,
Bank of Canada Review articles
Topic(s):
Central bank research,
Inflation targets,
Monetary policy framework