Why Canada Needs a Flexible Exchange Rate Staff Working Paper 1999-12 John Murray This paper explores the arguments for and against a common currency for Canada and the United States and attempts to determine whether such an arrangement would offer any significant advantages for Canada compared with the present flexible exchange rate system. The paper first reviews the theoretical arguments advanced in the economics literature in support of fixed and flexible currency arrangements. A discussion of Canada's past experience with the two exchange rate systems follows, after which there is a survey of the empirical evidence published on Canada's current and prospective suitability for some form of fixed currency arrangement with the United States. The final section of the paper examines critically a number of concerns raised about the behaviour of the current flexible exchange rate system. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Exchange rates JEL Code(s): F, F3, F31
Monetary and Fiscal Policies in Canada: Some Interesting Principles for EMU? Staff Working Paper 2004-28 Virginie Traclet Choosing a well-designed framework for fiscal and monetary policies is a challenge for economic authorities. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Fiscal policy, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, E6, E61, E63
Exponentials, Polynomials, and Fourier Series: More Yield Curve Modelling at the Bank of Canada Staff Working Paper 2002-29 David Bolder, Scott Gusba This paper continues the work started by Bolder and Stréliski (1999) and considers two alternative classes of models for extracting zero-coupon and forward rates from a set of observed Government of Canada bond and treasury-bill prices. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial markets, Interest rates JEL Code(s): C, C0, C6, E, E4, G, G1
Leaning Within a Flexible Inflation-Targeting Framework: Review of Costs and Benefits Staff Discussion Paper 2016-17 Denis Gorea, Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Tamon Takamura This note examines the merits of monetary policy adjustments in response to financial stability concerns, taking into account changes in the state of knowledge since the renewal of the inflation-targeting agreement in 2011. A key financial system vulnerability in Canada is elevated household indebtedness: as more and more households are nearing their debt-capacity limits, the likelihood and severity of a large negative correction in housing markets are also increasing. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Financial stability, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E0, E4, E44, E5, E52, E58, G, G1, G18
The Zero Bound on Nominal Interest Rates: How Important Is It? Staff Working Paper 2001-6 David Amirault, Brian O'Reilly This paper surveys the literature on the zero bound on the nominal interest rate. It addresses questions ranging from the conditions under which the zero bound on the nominal interest rate might occur to policy options to avoid or use to exit from such a situation. We discuss literature that examines historical and country evidence, and literature that uses models to generate evidence on this question. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Credibility, Inflation targets, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52, E58, E6, E61
Bank Market Power and Central Bank Digital Currency: Theory and Quantitative Assessment Staff Working Paper 2019-20 Jonathan Chiu, Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Janet Hua Jiang, Yu Zhu We show that issuing a deposit-like central bank digital currency (CBDC) with a proper interest rate would encourage banks to pay higher interest to keep their customers. Banks would then attract more deposits and offer more loans. Hence, a CBDC would not necessarily crowd out private banking. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Market structure and pricing, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E58
Prévision et analyse de la production manufacturière au Canada : comparaison de modèles linéaires et non linéaires Staff Working Paper 2004-40 Frédérick Demers In this paper, the author describes reduced-form linear and non-linear econometric models developed to forecast and analyze quarterly data on output growth in the Canadian manufacturing sector from 1981 to 2003. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C2, C22, C5, C53
A Simple Test of Simple Rules: Can They Improve How Monetary Policy is Implemented with Inflation Targets? Staff Working Paper 2003-31 Nicholas Rowe, David Tulk The authors evaluate whether an assortment of simple rules could improve how the Bank of Canada implements its inflation-targeting monetary policy. They focus on measuring the correlation between the deviations of inflation from the target and the lagged deviations of rule recommendations from the actual policy interest rate. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Inflation targets, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): E, E5
The Economics of Cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin and Beyond Staff Working Paper 2019-40 Jonathan Chiu, Thorsten Koeppl Since the creation of Bitcoin in 2009, over 2,000 cryptocurrencies have been issued. We evaluate how well a cryptocurrency functions as a payment system. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Monetary policy, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E5, L, L5
Implications of Uncertainty about Long-Run Inflation and the Price Level Staff Working Paper 2001-16 Gerald Stuber This paper surveys recent developments in the theoretical and empirical literature on the economic implications of uncertainty about the longer-term outlook for inflation. In particular, the linkages between inflation, long-run inflation uncertainty, and aggregate economic activity in industrial economies have become considerably better understood during the past decade. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Inflation: costs and benefits JEL Code(s): E, E2, E22, E3, E31, E4, E44