Real Return Bonds, Inflation Expectations, and the Break-Even Inflation Rate Staff Working Paper 2004-43 Ian Christensen, Christopher Reid, Frédéric Dion According to the Fisher hypothesis, the gap between Canadian nominal and Real Return Bond yields (or break-even inflation rate) should be a good measure of inflation expectations. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Interest rates, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E4, E43
Evaluating the portfolio balance effects of the Government of Canada Bond Purchase Program on the Canadian yield curve Staff Analytical Note 2024-22 Antonio Diez de los Rios The Bank of Canada’s Government of Canada Bond Purchase Program, launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, lowered the weighted average maturity of the Government of Canada’s debt by approximately 1.4 years. This in turn reduced Canadian 10-year and 5-year zero-coupon yields by 84 and 52 basis points, respectively. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Asset pricing, Central bank research, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Interest rates, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, E5, E52, G, G1, G12, H, H6, H63
Assembling a Real-Financial Micro-Dataset for Canadian Households Staff Working Paper 2010-6 Umar Faruqui The lack of consolidated Canadian micro data on household balance sheets and expenditures has been an important impediment to empirical research into real-financial linkages in the Canadian household sector. Our paper attempts to fill this data gap by merging household balance sheet data from the Canadian Financial Monitor survey with household expenditure data from the Survey of Household Spending. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Sectoral balance sheet JEL Code(s): C, C8, C81, D, D1, D10
Financial Conditions Indexes for Canada Staff Working Paper 2004-22 Céline Gauthier, Christopher Graham, Ying Liu The authors construct three financial conditions indexes (FCIs) for Canada based on three approaches: an IS-curve-based model, generalized impulse-response functions, and factor analysis. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Monetary and financial indicators, Monetary conditions index JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, E5, E52
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 Research Topic(s): Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission
Why Fixed Costs Matter for Proof-of-Work Based Cryptocurrencies Staff Working Paper 2020-27 Rodney J. Garratt, Maarten van Oordt Can Bitcoin survive? Some say it will become vulnerable to attacks as the rewards for processing Bitcoin transactions continue to decline. The economics of fixed costs suggest the specialized hardware used to mine Bitcoin may be key to its survival. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G1, G10, L, L1, L11
Evaluating Linear and Non-Linear Time-Varying Forecast-Combination Methods Staff Working Paper 2001-12 Fuchun Li, Greg Tkacz This paper evaluates linear and non-linear forecast-combination methods. Among the non-linear methods, we propose a nonparametric kernel-regression weighting approach that allows maximum flexibility of the weighting parameters. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C1, C14, C5, C53, E, E2, E27
Uninsurable Investment Risks Staff Working Paper 2004-29 Césaire Meh, Vincenzo Quadrini The authors study a general-equilibrium economy in which agents have the ability to invest in a risky technology. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Financial institutions, Financial markets JEL Code(s): D, D3, D31, E, E2, E21, G, G0
Adopting Price-Level Targeting under Imperfect Credibility Staff Working Paper 2008-3 Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Malik Shukayev, Alexander Ueberfeldt This paper measures the welfare gains of switching from inflation-targeting to price-level targeting under imperfect credibility. Vestin (2006) shows that when the monetary authority cannot commit to future policy, price-level targeting yields higher welfare than inflation targeting. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Credibility, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52
The Expectations Hypothesis for the Longer End of the Term Structure: Some Evidence for Canada Staff Working Paper 1999-20 Ron Lange This paper assesses the expectations theory for the longer end of the term structure of Canadian interest rates using three empirical approaches that have received attention in the literature: (i) cointegration tests of the long-run unbiasedness hypothesis; (ii) simulations of a theoretical long-term yield that is consistent with the expectations hypothesis, and (iii) ex post […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43