The COVID-19 Consumption Game-Changer: Evidence from a Large-Scale Multi-Country Survey Staff Working Paper 2021-57 Alexander Hodbod, Cars Hommes, Stefanie J. Huber, Isabelle Salle A multi-country consumer survey investigates why and how much households decreased their consumption in five key sectors after pandemic-related restrictions were lifted in Europe in July 2020. Beyond infection risk and precautionary saving motives, households also reported not missing some consumption items, which may indicate preference shifts and structural changes in the post-COVID-19 economy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Domestic demand and components, Firm dynamics, Fiscal policy, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, D8, D81, D84, E, E2, E21, E6, E60, E7, E71
Employment Effects of Restructuring in the Public Sector in North America Staff Working Paper 2001-19 Paul Fenton, Irene Ip, Geoff Wright This paper examines whether restructuring in the public sector contributed to the slower cyclical recovery in Canada than in the United States during the 1990s. Changes in public sector employment are used to investigate this question. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Labour markets JEL Code(s): J, J4, J45
A Wave of Protectionism? An Analysis of Economic and Political Considerations Staff Working Paper 2008-2 Philipp Maier In light of the U.S. current account deficit, pressure is high on Asian countries to revalue their currencies. The calls from some U.S. policymakers for tariffs on imports from China has sparked fears that this could trigger a world-wide surge in protectionism. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): International topics, Recent economic and financial developments, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): E, E6, E66, F, F3, F32, F4, F47
Household Heterogeneity and the Performance of Monetary Policy Frameworks Staff Working Paper 2022-12 Edouard Djeutem, Mario He, Abeer Reza, Yang Zhang Consumption inequality and a low interest rate environment are two important trends in today’s economy. But the implications they may have—and how those implications interact—within different monetary policy frameworks are not well understood. We study the ranking of alternative frameworks that take these trends into account. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): D, D3, D31, D5, D52, E, E2, E21, E3, E31, E5, E52, E58
Trends in U.S. Hours and the Labor Wedge Staff Working Paper 2010-28 Simona Cociuba, Alexander Ueberfeldt From 1980 until 2007, U.S. average hours worked increased by thirteen percent, due to a large increase in female hours. At the same time, the U.S. labor wedge, measured as the discrepancy between a representative household's marginal rate of substitution between consumption and leisure and the marginal product of labor, declined substantially. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Labour markets, Potential output JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, H, H2, H20, H3, H31, J, J2, J22
Security and convenience of a central bank digital currency Staff Analytical Note 2020-21 Charles M. Kahn, Francisco Rivadeneyra An anonymous token-based central bank digital currency (CBDC) would pose certain security risks to users. These risks arise from how balances are aggregated, from their transactional use and from the competition between suppliers of aggregation solutions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, G, G2, G21
The Bank of Canada's New Quarterly Projection Model, Part 3. The Dynamic Model: QPM Technical Report No. 75 Donald Coletti, Benjamin Hunt, David Rose, Robert Tetlow The Bank of Canada's new Quarterly Projection Model, QPM, combines the short-term dynamic properties necessary to support regular economic projections with the consistent behavioural structure necessary for policy analysis. Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Research Topic(s): Economic models JEL Code(s): C, C5, C53, E, E1, E17
Consumer Interest Rates and Retail Mutual Fund Flows Staff Working Paper 2012-39 Jesus Sierra This paper documents a link between the real and financial sides of the economy. We find that retail equity mutual fund flows in Canada are negatively related to current and past changes in a component of the prime and 5-year mortgage rates that is uncorrelated with government rates. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial services, Interest rates JEL Code(s): G, G2, G21, G23
The Canadian corporate investment gap Staff Analytical Note 2020-19 Chris D'Souza, Timothy Grieder, Daniel Hyun, Jonathan Witmer Business investment has been lower than expected in Canada and abroad since the financial crisis of 2007–09. This corporate investment gap is mirrored in firms’ other financing decisions, as they have increased cash holdings and dividend payments and decreased issuance of debt and equity. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, D9, D92, G, G3, G31, G32
Government Spending Multipliers Under the Zero Lower Bound: Evidence from Japan Staff Working Paper 2017-40 Thuy Lan Nguyen, Dmitriy Sergeyev, Wataru Miyamoto Using a rich data set on government spending forecasts in Japan, we provide new evidence on the effects of unexpected changes in government spending when the nominal interest rate is near the zero lower bound (ZLB). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Fiscal policy JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, E5, E6, E62