November 17, 2011 Liquidity Provision and Collateral Haircuts in Payments Systems Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2011 James Chapman, Jonathan Chiu, Miguel Molico Central banks play a pivotal role in well-functioning payments systems by providing liquidity via collateralized lending. This article discusses the role of collateral and haircut policy in central bank lending, as well as the distinguishing features of the central bank’s policy relative to private sector practices. It presents a model that explicitly incorporates the unique role of central banks in the payments system and argues that central banks must consider how their haircut policies affect the relative price and liquidity of assets, the market’s asset allocation, and the likelihood of participants to default. Furthermore, under extraordinary circumstances, there is a rationale for the central bank to temporarily reduce haircuts or broaden the list of eligible collateral to mitigate the shortage of liquidity in the market. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada Staff working paper 2017-56 Christopher Henry, Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls There has been tremendous discussion of Bitcoin, digital currencies and FinTech. However, there is limited empirical evidence of Bitcoin’s adoption and usage. We propose a methodology to collect a nationally representative sample using the Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS) to track the ubiquity and usage of Bitcoin in Canada. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, E, E4 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech
Housing Price Network Effects from Public Transit Investment: Evidence from Vancouver Staff working paper 2018-18 Alex Chernoff, Andrea Craig In this paper, we estimate the effect on housing prices of the expansion of the Vancouver SkyTrain rapid transit network during the period 2001–11. We extend the canonical residential sorting equilibrium framework to include commuting time in the household utility function. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): H, H4, H41, R, R2, R21, R4, R41 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
Volatility Risk and Economic Welfare Staff working paper 2017-20 Shaofeng Xu This paper examines the effects of time-varying volatility on welfare. I construct a tractable endogenous growth model with recursive preferences, stochastic volatility, and capital adjustment costs. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E3 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
The Macroeconomic Implications of Coholding Staff working paper 2024-16 Michael Boutros, Andrej Mijakovic Coholder households simultaneously carry high-cost credit card debt and low-yield cash. We study the implications of this behavior for fiscal and monetary policy, finding that coholder households have smaller consumption responses in the short run but larger responses in the long run. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E21, E4, E44, E6, E62, G, G5, G51 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Household and business credit, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
April 7, 2009 Price-Level Uncertainty, Price-Level Targeting, and Nominal Debt Contracts Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2009 Allan Crawford, Césaire Meh, Yaz Terajima Many central banks around the world have embraced inflation targeting as a monetary policy framework. Interest is growing, however, in price-level targeting as an alternative. The choice of frameworks has important consequences for financial contracts, most of which are not fully indexed to the price level. Changes in the price level therefore lead to changes in the real value of contracts. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
October 13, 2007 Estimating the Cost of Equity for Canadian and U.S. Firms Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2007 Lorie Zorn Financing costs are important for both firms and the economy, affecting investment decisions and, ultimately, economic growth. Despite concern among policy-makers that the cost of equity financing may be higher in Canada than in the United States, empirical evidence supporting this view is mixed. Yet Canadian firms may not undertake as many projects that could potentially enhance growth if the cost of equity financing in Canada is relatively high. The article summarizes research by Jonathan Witmer and Lorie Zorn on the influences on the cost of equity in Canada and the United States, using an updated methodology that controls for firm characteristics and aggregate-level factors. In their sample, the cost of equity was 30–50 basis points higher in Canada over 1988 to 2006 but appears to have dropped in the post-1997 period. The results have policy implications related to such factors as firm size, disclosure, and securities regulation and enforcement. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
The Size and Destination of China’s Portfolio Outflows Staff discussion paper 2018-11 Rose Cunningham, Eden Hatzvi, Kun Mo The size of China’s financial system raises the possibility that the liberalization of its capital account could have a large effect on the global financial system. This paper provides a counterfactual scenario analysis that estimates what the size and direction of China’s overseas portfolio investments would have been in 2015 if China had had no restrictions on these outflows. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C2, C23, F, F2, F21, F3, F32, G, G1, G15 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness
February 10, 2015 Minding the Labour Gap Remarks Carolyn A. Wilkins Ottawa Economics Association Ottawa, Ontario Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins discusses the state of the labour market, the impact of lower oil prices on Canada’s economic outlook and the importance of both for monetary policy. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks
Limiting Sender’s Information in Bayesian Persuasion Staff working paper 2019-10 Shota Ichihashi This paper studies how the outcome of Bayesian persuasion depends on a sender’s information. I study a game in which, prior to the sender’s information disclosure, the designer can restrict the most informative signal that the sender can generate. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, D83 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission