Assessing the Business Outlook Survey Indicator Using Real-Time Data Staff discussion paper 2017-5 Lise Pichette, Marie-Noëlle Robitaille Every quarter, the Bank of Canada conducts quarterly consultations with businesses across Canada, referred to as the Business Outlook Survey (BOS). A principal-component analysis conducted by Pichette and Rennison (2011) led to the development of the BOS indicator, which summarizes survey results and is used by the Bank as a gauge of overall business sentiment. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C53, C8, C82, E, E3, E37 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
Do Protectionist Trade Policies Integrate Domestic Markets? Evidence from the Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Dispute Staff working paper 2020-10 Jinggang Guo, Craig Johnston We consider the effects of protectionist trade policies on international and domestic market integration, using evidence from the long-standing softwood lumber trade dispute between Canada and the United States. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): F, F1, F13, Q, Q1, Q17 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness
Evaluating Real GDP Growth Forecasts in the Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report Staff analytical note 2017-21 André Binette, Dmitri Tchebotarev This paper examines the quality of projections of real GDP growth taken from the Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report (MPR) since they were first published in 1997. Over the last decade, it has become common practice among the central banking community to discuss forecast performance publicly. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): C, C5, C52, E, E3, E32, E37, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
(Un)Conventional Monetary and Fiscal Policy Staff working paper 2023-6 Jing Cynthia Wu, Yinxi Xie We build a tractable New Keynesian model to study and compare four types of monetary and fiscal policy: policy rate adjustments, quantitative easing, lump-sum fiscal transfers and government spending. We find that tax-financed fiscal policy is more stimulative than debt-financed policy, and optimal policy coordination needs at least two of these four policy instruments. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E6, E61, E62, E63 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Real economy and forecasting
May 13, 2014 Understanding Platform-Based Digital Currencies Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2014 Ben Fung, Hanna Halaburda Given technological advances and the widespread use of the Internet, various digital currencies have emerged. In most cases, Internet platforms such as Facebook and Amazon restrict the functionality of their digital currencies to enhance the business model and maximize their profits. While platform-based digital currencies could increase the efficiency of retail payments, they could also raise some important policy issues if they were to become widely used outside of the platform. Thus, it is important to closely monitor the evolution of these digital currencies. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42
Information Contagion and Systemic Risk Staff working paper 2017-29 Co-Pierre Georg, Toni Ahnert We examine the effect of ex-post information contagion on the ex-ante level of systemic risk defined as the probability of joint bank default. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): G, G0, G01, G1, G11, G2, G21 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk
Monetary Policy Transmission amid Demand Reallocations Staff working paper 2024-42 Julien Bengui, Lu Han, Gaelan MacKenzie We analyze the transmission of monetary policy during different phases of a sectoral demand reallocation episode when there are frictions to increasing production in a sector. Monetary policy is more effective in reducing inflation when a larger proportion of sectors are expanding or expect to expand in the near future. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E1, E12, E2, E24, E3, E31, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting
The Bank of Canada COVID‑19 stringency index: measuring policy response across provinces Staff analytical note 2021-1 Calista Cheung, Jerome Lyons, Bethany Madsen, Sarah Miller, Saarah Sheikh We construct an index that systematically measures and tracks the stringency of government policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic across Canadian provinces. Researchers can use this stringency index to analyze how the pandemic is affecting the economy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E20, H, H7, I, I1, I18, R, R1 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
May 23, 2003 The Bank of Canada: Moving Towards Transparency Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2003 John Chant During the 1990s the Bank of Canada made several changes that transformed its conduct of monetary policy. In the 1960s and 1970s, policy decisions were made in an environment characterized by instrument opaqueness and goal opaqueness, which tended to shield the Bank's operations from scrutiny and accountability. Since the 1970s the Bank has moved towards transparency and openness by rejecting multiple policy instruments and adopting a single, well-defined goal of inflation control. A recent survey has shown that the Bank of Canada is in the middle range of central banks with regard to its transparency and has lost points for not publishing the forecasts that shape its policy or the minutes and voting records of its governing body. Chant suggests that the public has benefited significantly from the changes the Bank has made, but that it should continue to support research on the benefits of low and stable inflation and continually inform other policy-makers and the public of the results. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
The Impacts of Minimum Wage Increases on the Canadian Economy Staff analytical note 2017-26 Dany Brouillette, Daniel Gao, Olivier Gervais, Calista Cheung This note reviews the channels through which scheduled minimum wage increases over the coming years may affect Canadian economic activity and inflation and assesses their macroeconomic impacts. From reduced-form estimates of direct minimum wage pass-through, we find that consumer price index (CPI) inflation could be boosted by about 0.1 percentage point (pp) on average in 2018. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J21, J22, J23 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting