Electronic Transactions as High-Frequency Indicators of Economic Activity Staff Working Paper 2007-58 John Galbraith, Greg Tkacz Since the advent of standard national accounts data over 60 years ago, economists have traditionally relied on monthly or quarterly data supplied by central statistical agencies for macroeconomic modelling and forecasting. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles JEL Code(s): E, E1, E17, E2, E27, E6, E66
Uncertainty and the Specificity of Human Capital Staff Working Paper 2007-57 Martin Gervais, Igor Livshits, Césaire Meh This paper studies the choice between general and specific human capital. A trade-off arises because general human capital, while less productive, can easily be reallocated across firms. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models JEL Code(s): D, D9, D92, J, J2, J24, J4, J41, J6, J62
Estimation and Inference by the Method of Projection Minimum Distance Staff Working Paper 2007-56 Òscar Jordà, Sharon Kozicki A covariance-stationary vector of variables has a Wold representation whose coefficients can be semi-parametrically estimated by local projections (Jordà, 2005). Substituting the Wold representations for variables in model expressions generates restrictions that can be used by the method of minimum distance to estimate model parameters. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C3, C32, C5, C53, E, E4, E47
The Impact of Emerging Asia on Commodity Prices Staff Working Paper 2007-55 Sylvie Morin, Calista Cheung Over the past 5 years, real energy and non-energy commodity prices have trended sharply higher. These relative price movements have had important implications for inflation and economic activity in both Canada and the rest of the world. China has accounted for the bulk of incremental demand for oil and many base metals over this period. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E3, F, F4, O, O1, O19, Q, Q1, Q11
Tracking Canadian Trend Productivity: A Dynamic Factor Model with Markov Switching Staff Discussion Paper 2007-12 Michael Dolega The author attempts to track Canadian labour productivity over the past four decades using a multivariate dynamic factor model that, in addition to the labour productivity series, includes aggregate compensation and consumption information. Productivity is assumed to switch between two regimes (the high-growth state and the low-growth state) with different trend growth rates according to […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Productivity JEL Code(s): C, C3, C32, O, O4, O5, O51
Expenditure-Switching Effect and the Choice of Exchange Rate Regime Staff Working Paper 2007-54 Wei Dong The author investigates the quantitative importance of the expenditure-switching effect by developing and estimating a structural sticky-price model nesting both producer currency pricing (PCP) and local currency pricing (LCP) settings. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rate regimes, International topics JEL Code(s): F, F3, F4
Testing Uncovered Interest Parity: A Continuous-Time Approach Staff Working Paper 2007-53 Antonio Diez de los Rios, Enrique Sentana Nowadays researchers can choose the sampling frequency of exchange rates and interest rates. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Exchange rates JEL Code(s): F, F3, F31, G, G1, G15
Where Does Price Discovery Occur in FX Markets? Staff Working Paper 2007-52 Chris D'Souza Trades in foreign exchange markets are initiated around the world and around the clock. This study illustrates that trades are more informative when initiated in a local country or in major foreign exchange centers like London and New York. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rates, Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): F, F3, F31, G, G1, G15
Price-Level Targeting and Stabilization Policy: A Review Staff Discussion Paper 2007-11 Steve Ambler The author surveys recent articles on the costs and benefits of price-level targeting versus inflation targeting, focusing on the benefits and costs of price-level targeting as a tool for stabilization policy. He reviews papers that examine how price-level targeting affects the short-run trade-off between output and inflation variability by influencing expectations of future inflation. The […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E32, E5, E52
Rediscounting Under Aggregate Risk with Moral Hazard Staff Working Paper 2007-51 James Chapman, Antoine Martin Freeman (1999) proposes a model in which discount window lending and open market operations have different effects. This is important because in most of the literature, these policies are indistinguishable. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Financial markets, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, G, G2, G20