Credit Conditions, Inflation, and Unemployment Staff working paper 2025-26 Chao Gu, Janet Hua Jiang, Liang Wang We identify two channels that affect the relationship between inflation and unemployment. First, inflation lowers wages because unemployed suffer more from inflation than employed, generating a positive relationship. Second, inflation increases firms’ financing costs, generating a negative relationship. Improvements in firm financing conditions can induce the relationship to switch signs. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E3, E31, E4, E44, E5, E51 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Household and business credit, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting
Measuring the Effectiveness of Salespeople: Evidence from a Cold-Drink Market Staff working paper 2021-40 Haofeng Jin, Zhentong Lu Salespeople are widely employed in many industries. We leverage a unique data set on retail sales from a leading Chinese cold-drink manufacturer and information on the firm’s salespeople assignment rule to measure the causal effect of salespeople on product revenue. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): L, L8, L81, M, M3, M5 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
Frictional Capital Reallocation I: Ex Ante Heterogeneity Staff working paper 2019-4 Randall Wright, Sylvia Xiaolin Xiao, Yu Zhu This paper studies dynamic general equilibrium models where firms trade capital in frictional markets. Gains from trade arise due to ex ante heterogeneity: some firms are better at investment, so they build capital in the primary market; others acquire it in the secondary market. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E22, E4, E44 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Real economy and forecasting
Generalized Autoregressive Gamma Processes Staff working paper 2023-40 Bruno Feunou We introduce generalized autoregressive gamma (GARG) processes, a class of autoregressive and moving-average processes in which each conditional moment dynamic is driven by a different and identifiable moving average of the variable of interest. We show that using GARG processes reduces pricing errors by substantially more than using existing autoregressive gamma processes does. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C58, G, G1, G12 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods
The Size and Characteristics of Informal (“Gig”) Work in Canada Staff analytical note 2019-6 Olena Kostyshyna, Corinne Luu Underlying wage growth has fallen short of what would be consistent with an economy operating with little or no slack. While many factors could explain this weakness, the availability of additional labour resources from informal (“gig”) work—not fully captured in standard measures of employment and hours worked—may play a role. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E26, J, J2, J20, J3, J30, J4 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
A Financial Stability Analysis of Zombie Firms in Canada Staff analytical note 2020-3 Timothy Grieder, Juan Ortega We measure the prevalence of zombie firms in Canada and assess how they could potentially affect the financial system. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): G, G3, G32 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Household and business credit
Distributional Effects of Payment Card Pricing and Merchant Cost Pass-through in Canada and the United States Staff working paper 2021-8 Marie-Hélène Felt, Fumiko Hayashi, Joanna Stavins, Angelika Welte Although credit cards are more expensive for merchants to accept than cash or debit cards, merchants typically pass through their costs evenly to all customers. Along with consumer card rewards and banking fees, this creates cross-subsidies between payment methods. Because higher-income individuals tend to use credit cards more than those with lower incomes, our results indicate that these cross-subsidies might lead to regressive distributional effects. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, D2, D23, D3, D31, E, E4, E42, G, G2, G21, L, L8, L81 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Money and payments, Retail payments
CBDC in the Market for Payments at the Point of Sale: Equilibrium Impact and Incumbent Responses Staff working paper 2024-52 Walter Engert, Oleksandr Shcherbakov, André Stenzel We simulate introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and consider consumer adoption, merchant acceptance and usage at the point of sale. Modest adoption frictions significantly inhibit CBDC market penetration along all three dimensions. Incumbent responses to restore pre-CBDC market shares are moderate to small and further reduce the impact of a CBDC. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C51, D, D1, D12, E, E4, E42, L, L1, L14, L5, L52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments
June 17, 2019 Flexible Exchange Rates, Commodity Prices and Price Stability Remarks Lawrence L. Schembri Economics Society of Northern Alberta (ESNA) Edmonton, Alberta Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri speaks before the Economics Society of Northern Alberta (ESNA). Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Subject(s): Financial system, Financial markets, Monetary policy, Economy/Economic growth, Inflation, Inflation targeting framework
August 25, 2015 The Long-Term Evolution of House Prices: An International Perspective Remarks Lawrence L. Schembri Canadian Association for Business Economics Kingston, Ontario Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri discusses the international evidence of underlying determinants of long-term movements in house prices. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks