Communicating Uncertainty in Monetary Policy Staff discussion paper 2017-14 Sharon Kozicki, Jill Vardy While central banks cannot provide complete foresight with respect to their future policy actions, it is in the interests of both central banks and market participants that central banks be transparent about their reaction functions and how they may evolve in response to economic developments, shocks, and risks to their outlooks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, E6, E61, E65 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation
Supply Shocks in the Fog: The Role of Endogenous Uncertainty Staff working paper 2026-12 Anastasiia Antonova, Mykhailo Matvieiev, Celine Poilly Recessions feature elevated uncertainty. We develop a nonlinear imperfect-information New Keynesian model where procyclical information quality generates endogenous countercyclical uncertainty and precautionary saving. This demand channel can overturn the inflationary impact of negative supply shocks, making them deflationary, unless monetary policy stabilizes the output gap. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D8, D81, D83, E, E2, E21, E3, E32, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission
A Reference Guide for the Business Outlook Survey Staff discussion paper 2020-15 David Amirault, Naveen Rai, Laurent Martin The Business Outlook Survey (BOS) has become an important part of monetary policy deliberations at the Bank of Canada and is also well known in Canadian policy and financial circles. This paper compiles more than 20 years of experience conducting the BOS and serves as a comprehensive reference manual. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C8, C83, D, D2, D22, E, E3, E32 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting
Merchant Acceptance of Cash and Credit Cards at the Point of Sale Staff analytical note 2018-1 Ben Fung, Kim Huynh, Kerry Nield, Angelika Welte Recent data show that the use of credit cards in Canada has been increasing, while the use of cash has been declining. At the same time, only two-thirds of small or medium-sized businesses accept credit cards. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): C, C2, D, D1, E, E4, E41 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments
SME Failures Under Large Liquidity Shocks: An Application to the COVID-19 Crisis Staff working paper 2023-32 Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan, Veronika Penciakova, Nicholas Sander We study the effects of financial frictions on firm exit when firms face large liquidity shocks. We develop a simple model of firm cost-minimization that introduces a financial friction that limits firms’ borrowing capacity to smooth temporary shocks to liquidity. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D2, D21, D22, E, E6, E65, H, H8, H81 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Household and business credit, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
The Digital Economy—Insight from a Special Survey with IT Service Exporters Staff discussion paper 2016-21 Wei Dong, James Fudurich, Lena Suchanek Information technology (IT) is an increasingly integral part of everyday business and personal life reflecting the ongoing and accelerating digital transformation of the economy. In this paper, we present information gathered from a survey with export-oriented firms in the Canadian IT service industry and consultations with industry associations aimed at shedding light on this small but highly dynamic sector. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, L, L8, L86, O, O3, O33 Research Theme(s): Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity, International trade, finance and competitiveness
October 22, 2006 ToTEM: The Bank of Canada's New Projection and Policy-Analysis Model Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2006 Paul Fenton, Stephen Murchison The Terms-of-Trade Economic Model, or ToTEM, replaced the Quarterly Projection Model (QPM) in December 2005 as the Bank's principal projection and policy-analysis model for the Canadian economy. Benefiting from advances in economic modelling and computer power, ToTEM builds on the strengths of QPM, allowing for optimizing behaviour on the part of firms and households, both in and out of steady state, in a multi-product environment. The authors explain the motivation behind the development of ToTEM, provide an overview of the model and its calibration, and present several simulations to illustrate its key properties, concluding with some indications of how the model is expected to evolve going forward. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
Competing Currencies in the Laboratory Staff working paper 2017-53 Janet Hua Jiang, Cathy Zhang We investigate competition between two intrinsically worthless currencies as a result of decentralized interactions between human subjects. We design a laboratory experiment based on a simple two-country, two-currency search model to study factors that affect circulation patterns and equilibrium selection. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C9, C92, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E40 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, International markets and currencies, Models and tools, Economic models, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech
February 10, 2021 Payments innovation beyond the pandemic Remarks (delivered virtually) Timothy Lane Institute for Data Valorisation Montréal, Quebec Deputy Governor Timothy Lane talks about how the Bank of Canada is contributing to the modernization of our payments ecosystem, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to make payments more convenient for all Canadians. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Subject(s): Currency, Digital currency, Financial system, Financial markets, Fintech, Funds management
Anticipating changes in bank capital buffer requirements Staff analytical note 2025-27 Josef Schroth Time-varying capital buffer requirements are a powerful tool that allow bank regulators to avoid severe financial stress without the cost of imposing very high levels of capital. However, this tool is only effective if banks understand how it is used. I present a model that banks and financial market participants can use to anticipate how time-varying capital buffer requirements change over time. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E1, E13, E3, E32, E4, E44 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial system regulation and oversight