Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada: An Update Staff analytical note 2018-23 Christopher Henry, Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls The results of our 2017 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (December 12 to 15, 2017) when compared with those from 2016 show that Bitcoin “awareness” increased from 64 to 85 per cent, while ownership increased from 2.9 to 5.0 per cent. Most Bitcoin purchasers are using the cryptocurrency as an investment and not as a means of payment for goods or services. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, E, E4 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech
August 18, 2011 The BoC-GEM-Fin: Banking in the Global Economy Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2011 Carlos De Resende, René Lalonde This article describes the Bank of Canada’s version of the Global Economy Model structured to incorporate an active banking system that features an interbank market and cross-border lending. After describing the new model, the authors use it to examine the responses of selected U.S. and Canadian macroeconomic variables to a “credit crunch” in the United States and also to study the impact of changes in the regulatory limits to bank leverage in Canada. They also discuss the relative merits of a monetary policy framework based on inflation targeting and one based on price-level targeting in the presence of shocks to the U.S. and Canadian banking sectors. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
November 11, 2009 Declining Inflation Persistence in Canada: Causes and Consequences Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2009-2010 Rhys R. Mendes, Stephen Murchison The persistence of both core and total consumer price index inflation in Canada has declined significantly since the 1980s. In addition to providing up-to-date estimates of inflation persistence, this article examines possible reasons for the decline suggested in the literature. The role played by monetary policy, through its effect on price- and wage-setting behaviour, is distinguished from possible changes to the structure of the economy that are independent of monetary policy. The authors also discuss the implications for monetary policy of low structural persistence in inflation, including the choice of an inflation-targeting regime versus a price-level-targeting regime. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
June 2, 2006 Another Look at the Inflation-Target Horizon Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2006 Donald Coletti, Jack Selody, Carolyn A. Wilkins The conduct of monetary policy within an inflation-targeting framework requires the establishment of an inflation-target horizon, which is the average time it takes inflation to return to the target. Policy-makers have an interest in communicating this horizon, since it is likely to help anchor inflation expectations. This article focuses on the determination of the appropriate policy horizon by reporting on two recent Bank of Canada studies. The evidence suggests that the current target horizon of six to eight quarters remains appropriate. It is important to note that the duration of the optimal inflation-target horizon varies widely, depending on the combination of shocks to the economy. In rare cases when the financial accelerator is triggered by a persistent shock, such as an asset-price bubble, it may be appropriate to take a longer view of the inflation-target horizon. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
Supply Drivers of US Inflation Since the COVID-19 Pandemic Staff working paper 2023-19 Serdar Kabaca, Kerem Tuzcuoglu This paper examines the contribution of several supply factors to US headline inflation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We identify six supply shocks using a structural VAR model: labor supply, labor productivity, global supply chain, oil price, price mark-up and wage mark-up shocks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C3, C32, E, E3, E31, E32 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures
December 13, 1999 Feedback Rules for Inflation Control: An Overview of Recent Literature Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1999–2000 Agathe Côté, Jamie Armour Feedback rules are rules aimed at guiding policy-makers as they face the problem of keeping inflation close to a desired path without causing variability elsewhere in the economy. These rules link short-term interest rates, controlled by the central bank, to the rate of inflation and/or its deviation from a target rate. The authors describe the most popular types of feedback rules and review some simulation results. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
Firm Dynamics and Multifactor Productivity: An Empirical Exploration Staff working paper 2018-15 Pierre St-Amant, David Tessier There are indications that business dynamism has declined in advanced economies. In particular, firm entry and exit rates have fallen, suggesting that the creative destruction process has lost some of its vitality. Meanwhile, productivity growth has slowed. Some believe that lower entry and exit rates partly explain the weaker productivity growth. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D2, D24, M, M1, M13, O, O4, O47 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity
Turning Words into Numbers: Measuring News Media Coverage of Shortages Staff discussion paper 2023-8 Lin Chen, Stéphanie Houle We develop high-frequency, news-based indicators using natural language processing methods to analyze news media texts. Our indicators track both supply (raw, intermediate and final goods) and labour shortages over time. They also provide weekly time-varying topic narratives about various types of shortages. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C55, C8, C82, E, E3, E37 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting
May 17, 2012 Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2012 This issue features a summary of the Bank’s annual conference, which took place in November 2011 and dealt with payments systems, and two articles that present research by Bank staff on global current account imbalances and macrofinancial risk assessment. The fourth article in this issue reviews the recent experience with inflation targeting. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review
Central Bank Communication That Works: Lessons from Lab Experiments Staff working paper 2019-21 Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Luba Petersen We use controlled laboratory experiments to test the causal effects of central bank communication on economic expectations and to distinguish the underlying mechanisms of those effects. In an experiment where subjects learn to forecast economic variables, we find that central bank communication has a stabilizing effect on individual and aggregate outcomes and that the size of the effect varies with the type of communication. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C9, D, D8, D84, E, E3, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation