November 18, 2001 A New Measure of Core Inflation Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2001 Tiff Macklem While the Bank of Canada's inflation-control target is specified in terms of the rate of increase in the total consumer price index, the Bank uses a measure of trend or "core" inflation as a short-term guide for its monetary policy actions. When the inflation targets were renewed in May 2001, the Bank announced that it was adopting a new measure of core inflation. This measure excludes the eight most volatile components of the CPI and adjusts the remaining components for the effect of changes in indirect taxes. In this article, the author discusses the definition of the new measure of core inflation and describes some of its advantages relative to the previous measure. He notes that the new measure has a firmer statistical basis, has a better correspondence with economic theory, and does a better job of predicting future changes in overall inflation. While the new measure has these advantages, the Bank will continue to monitor a broad range of indicators when assessing the likely future path for inflation. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
Should Central Banks Worry About Nonlinearities of their Large-Scale Macroeconomic Models? Staff working paper 2017-21 Vadym Lepetyuk, Lilia Maliar, Serguei Maliar How wrong could policymakers be when using linearized solutions to their macroeconomic models instead of nonlinear global solutions? Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C6, C61, C63, C68, E, E3, E31, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission
Finding a Needle in a Haystack: A Machine Learning Framework for Anomaly Detection in Payment Systems Staff working paper 2024-15 Ajit Desai, Anneke Kosse, Jacob Sharples Our layered machine learning framework can enhance real-time transaction monitoring in high-value payment systems, which are a central piece of a country’s financial infrastructure. When tested on data from Canadian payment systems, it demonstrated potential for accurately identifying anomalous transactions. This framework could help improve cyber and operational resilience of payment systems. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C4, C45, C5, C55, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E42 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
Privacy in CBDC technology Staff analytical note 2020-9 Sriram Darbha, Rakesh Arora Privacy is a key aspect of a potential central bank digital currency system. We outline different technical choices to enact various privacy models while complying with the appropriate regulations. We develop a framework to evaluate privacy models and list key risks and trade-offs in privacy design. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E51, O, O3 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures
November 11, 2009 The Evolution of Capital Flows to Emerging-Market Economies Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2009-2010 Lena Suchanek, Garima Vasishtha Many emerging-market economies (EMEs) have significantly improved their macroeconomic fundamentals and undergone structural reforms since the Asian crisis. These developments have enhanced the composition of capital flows to EMEs through an improved debt structure, a larger share of capital flows as foreign direct investment, and greater access to international debt markets for corporations in EMEs. Structural changes in the global financial landscape have also increased capital flows, bringing economic and financial benefits to EMEs. During the recent financial crisis, however, the opening up of capital accounts and increased financial and trade linkages left many countries vulnerable to external disruptions. Countries with sound fundamentals have weathered the crisis relatively well. Policy-makers in EMEs need to implement policies that support capital flows and ensure that controls imposed to deal with detrimental outflows during periods of stress or rapid inflows are only temporary. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
Harnessing the benefit of state-contingent forward guidance Staff analytical note 2022-13 Vivian Chu, Yang Zhang A low level of the neutral rate of interest increases the likelihood that a central bank’s policy rate will reach its effective lower bound (ELB) in future economic downturns. In a low neutral rate environment, using an extended monetary policy toolkit including forward guidance helps address the ELB challenge. Using the Bank’s Terms-of-Trade Economic Model, we assess the benefits and limitations of a state-contingent forward guidance implemented within a flexible inflation targeting framework. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E27, E3, E37, E4, E5, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation
Bank Screening Heterogeneity Staff working paper 2016-56 Thibaut Duprey Production efficiency and financial stability do not necessarily go hand in hand. With heterogeneity in banks’ abilities to screen borrowers, the market for loans becomes segmented and a self-competition mechanism arises. When heterogeneity increases, the intensive and extensive margins have opposite effects. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): G, G1, G14, G2, G21, L, L1, L13 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial stability and systemic risk, Household and business credit
Parallel Tempering for DSGE Estimation Staff working paper 2024-13 Joshua Brault I develop a population-based Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm known as parallel tempering to estimate dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models. Parallel tempering approximates the posterior distribution of interest using a family of Markov chains with tempered posteriors. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C11, C15, E, E1, E10 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models
August 23, 2004 The Evolution of Liquidity in the Market for Government of Canada Bonds Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2004 Stacey Anderson, Stéphane Lavoie Using turnover ratios, Anderson and Lavoie describe the recent evolution of liquidity in various secondary government bond markets, focusing specifically on the market for Government of Canada securities. They attribute much of the recent variation in liquidity to such cyclical factors as changes in the interest rate environment and investors' appetite for risk, as well as developments in equity markets in the late 1990s. They also examine longer-term structural and policy-related trends, including the rate of adoption of financial and technological innovations and the level of government borrowing and debt-management initiatives. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles
March 9, 2010 An Uncertain Past: Data Revisions and Monetary Policy in Canada Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2010 Greg Tkacz Many important economic variables are subject to revision. This article explains how, when, and why such revisions occur; how revisions to Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) compare with GDP revisions in some other countries; which GDP components are subject to the largest revisions; and how data revisions can affect policy decisions. The author finds that revisions to Canadian GDP tend to be smaller, on average, than those of some other countries, and that among the GDP components, exports and imports are most heavily revised. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles