Vulnerabilities in Defined-Benefit Pension Plans Staff Discussion Paper 2007-3 Jack Selody An effective pension system enhances economic and financial efficiency. A majority of pension plans in Canada are defined-benefit (DB) plans, but DB plans are under stress from increasing longevity, low long-term interest rates, and the shrinking equity premium. DB plans are vulnerable to such shocks because they are complex financial vehicles, with interdependencies not fully […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial institutions JEL Code(s): G, G2, G23
May 10, 2007 Spring 2007 Consultations Document – Auction Plan for Real Return Bonds In April 2007, officials from the Department of Finance and the Bank of Canada sought the views of institutional investors, government securities distributors, and other interested parties regarding the auction plan for Real Return Bonds (RRBs). The consultations were undertaken in view of the announcement, in the Debt Management Strategy for 2007/08, of an increase in the issuance of RRBs to slightly over $2 billion. Content Type(s): Press, Market notices
May 10, 2007 A Sound Pension System – Handling Risk Appropriately Remarks David Dodge Conference Board of Canada 2007 Pensions Summit Toronto, Ontario It goes without saying that a sound system of private pensions is important from the perspective of pensioners who rely on a given plan for their retirement income. For firms, a pension plan can help to attract and retain staff, and so the business community also counts on a sound pension system. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks
May 10, 2007 Governor Dodge Discusses Need to Support Canada's Private Pension System Media Relations Toronto, Ontario Policy-makers need to make sure that Canada's system of private pensions provides the right incentives for risk to be managed appropriately, Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said today. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
Implications of New Accounting Standards for the Bank of Canada's Balance Sheet Staff Discussion Paper 2007-2 Mark Zelmer, Grahame Johnson The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) has implemented new accounting standards for the valuation and reporting of financial instruments. They are effective for the Bank of Canada in 2007. As a result of these changes, the Bank has begun valuing its holdings of Government of Canada treasury bills on a fair value basis and […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, M, M4
May 4, 2007 The Importance of Appropriate Exchange Rate Regimes Remarks David Dodge ACI - The Financial Markets Association Montréal, Quebec Why do I think that such an order is so important? Well, in part it's because history has helped to demonstrate its virtues. But it's also extremely important to bear in mind the context, that is, the world in which we live today. This is a world in which adjustment is perpetual, where change is driven by the development of new technologies, where sectors and nations continually attempt to secure some new advantage. And in this world, price signals from markets help us to understand what adjustments are needed. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks
Oil Price Movements and the Global Economy: A Model-Based Assessment Staff Working Paper 2007-34 Selim Elekdag, René Lalonde, Douglas Laxton, Dirk Muir, Paolo Pesenti We develop a five-region version (Canada, an oil exporter, the United States, emerging Asia and Japan plus the euro area) of the Global Economy Model (GEM) encompassing production and trade of crude oil, and use it to study the international transmission mechanism of shocks that drive oil prices. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Inflation and prices, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E6, E66, F, F3, F32, F4, F47
May 4, 2007 Governor Dodge discusses how flexible exchange rates aid economic adjustments Media Relations Montréal, Quebec A flexible exchange rate regime can help an economy adjust to shocks, and can be an important part of a market-based, liberalized trade and financial order, said Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
Domestic versus External Borrowing and Fiscal Policy in Emerging Markets Staff Working Paper 2007-33 Garima Vasishtha Domestic public debt issued by emerging markets has risen significantly relative to international debt in recent years. Some recent empirical evidence also suggests that sovereigns have defaulted differentially on debt held by domestic and external creditors. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Debt management, International topics JEL Code(s): F, F3, F30, H, H2, H21, H6, H63
Computing Optimal Policy in a Timeless-Perspective: An Application to a Small-Open Economy Staff Working Paper 2007-32 Michel Juillard, Florian Pelgrin Since the contribution of Kydland and Prescott (1977), it is well known that the optimal Ramsey policy is time inconsistent. In a series of recent contributions, Woodford (2003) proposes a new methodology to circumvent this problem, namely the timeless perspective solution. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): C, C6, E, E5, E6