August 15, 2013 CSI: A Model for Tracking Short-Term Growth in Canadian Real GDP Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2013 André Binette, Jae Chang Canada’s Short-Term Indicator (CSI) is a new model that exploits the information content of 32 indicators to produce daily updates to forecasts of quarterly real GDP growth. The model is a data-intensive, judgment-free approach to short-term forecasting. While CSI’s forecasts at the start of the quarter are not very accurate, the model’s accuracy increases appreciably as more information becomes available. CSI is the latest addition to a wide range of models and information sources that the Bank of Canada uses, combined with expert judgment, to produce its short-term forecasts. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles JEL Code(s): C, C5, C53, E, E1, E17, E3, E37
November 21, 2003 Developments, Issues, and Initiatives in Retail Payments Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2003 Sean O'Connor Innovations in basic information technologies, in payment applications, and in the availability of global markets, as well as substantial changes in financial sector policy, have fundamentally changed how the retail payments system in Canada operates. Principally, the volume and types of electronic payments have grown, and there is increased participation by diverse groups of financial and non-financial institutions as providers of retail payment services. The resulting policy problem for payment systems is how best to benefit from efficiency gains while managing payment risks. O'Connor examines the effect of the technological and legislative changes and the initiatives developed by the public and private sectors in such areas as the market arrangements for services; customer risks and costs for settling large-value retail payments; the security of payment information and the efficiency with which it is transmitted; and the effects of differing regulatory regimes on competition among providers of retail payment services. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
Modelling the Sovereign Debt Strategy: A Practical Primer Staff discussion paper 2025-16 Nicolas Audet, Adam Epp, Jeffrey Gao, Joe Ning We provide a primer on the role of debt modelling in informing the sovereign debt issuance strategy and discuss how specific challenges faced by debt managers can influence model design decisions. These insights are supported by our experiences using the Canadian Debt Strategy Model to guide policy decisions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): G, G1, G11, G17, H, H6, H63, H68 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Models and tools, Economic models
Cost Pass-Through with Capacity Constraints and International Linkages Staff working paper 2023-16 Reinhard Ellwanger, Hinnerk Gnutzmann, Piotr Śpiewanowski How are regional cost shocks passed through into global prices? We investigate the role of short-run capacity constraints and show that they can induce stark non-linearities in the pass-through. We highlight this effect for the market for ammonia, a commodity produced largely from natural gas. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): L, L1, L13, L6, L65, Q, Q4, Q40, Q5, Q54 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Structural challenges, Climate change, International trade, finance and competitiveness
November 17, 2001 Predictability of Average Inflation over Long Time Horizons Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2001 Allan Crawford Uncertainty about the level of future inflation adversely affects the economy because it distorts the savings and investment decisions of households and businesses. Since these decisions typically involve planning horizons of many years, the adverse effects from inflation uncertainty can be reduced by adopting a policy framework that makes future inflation more predictable over long time horizons. When the inflation-control target was renewed in May 2001, the agreement affirmed that monetary policy will be directed at moving inflation to the 2 per cent midpoint of the target range over a six-to-eight-quarter horizon. The author describes how this policy commitment increases the predictability of average inflation over periods longer than one year. This relationship is illustrated using the Canadian experience from the inflation-targeting period. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
Sample Calibration of the Online CFM Survey Technical report No. 118 Marie-Hélène Felt, David Laferrière The Canadian Financial Monitor (CFM) survey uses non-probability sampling for data collection, so selection bias is likely. We outline methods for obtaining survey weights and discuss the conditions necessary for these weights to eliminate selection bias. We obtain calibration weights for the 2018 and 2019 online CFM samples. Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports JEL Code(s): C, C8, C81, C83 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments
Quantifying the Economic Benefits of Payments Modernization: the Case of the Large-Value Payment System Staff working paper 2021-64 Neville Arjani, Fuchun Li, Zhentong Lu Canada is undertaking a major initiative to modernize its payments ecosystem. The modernized ecosystem is expected to bring significant benefits to Canadian financial markets and the overall economy. We develop an empirical framework to quantify the economic benefits of modernizing the payment system in Canada. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C3, E, E4, E42, G, G1, G2, G28 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
Monetary Policy and Redistribution in Open Economies Staff working paper 2022-6 Xing Guo, Pablo Ottonello, Diego Perez We study how different types of monetary policy shape the distributional effects of external economic shocks on households’ consumption in a small open economy. Our results present a trade-off between maintaining overall stabilization and controlling consumption inequality. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, E5, E52, F, F4, F41, F44 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness
Predictive Ability of Commodity Prices for the Canadian Dollar Staff analytical note 2016-2 Kimberly Berg, Pierre Guérin, Yuko Imura Recent sharp declines in commodity prices and the simultaneous depreciation of the Canadian dollar (CAD) relative to the U.S. dollar (USD) have rekindled an interest in the relationship between commodity prices and the CAD-USD exchange rate. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, International markets and currencies, Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods
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