A Structural Interpretation of the Recent Weakness in Business Investment Staff Analytical Note 2017-7 Russell Barnett, Rhys R. Mendes Since 2012, business investment growth has slowed considerably in advanced economies, averaging a little less than 2 per cent versus the 4 per cent growth rates experienced in the period leading up to crisis. Several recent studies have attributed a large part of the weakness in business investment to cyclical factors, including soft aggregate demand, and, to a lesser degree, heightened uncertainty and tighter financial conditions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Domestic demand and components, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): E, E2, E22, E3, E37
Understanding the Cross‐Country Effects of US Technology Shocks Staff Working Paper 2017-23 Thuy Lan Nguyen, Wataru Miyamoto Business cycles are substantially correlated across countries. Yet most existing models are not able to generate substantial transmission through international trade. We show that the nature of such transmission depends fundamentally on the features determining the responsiveness of labor supply and labor demand to international relative prices. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Economic models, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E3, E30, F, F4, F41, F44, F6, F62
A Three‐Frequency Dynamic Factor Model for Nowcasting Canadian Provincial GDP Growth Staff Discussion Paper 2017-8 Tony Chernis, Gabriella Velasco, Calista Cheung This paper estimates a three‐frequency dynamic factor model for nowcasting Canadian provincial gross domestic product (GDP). Canadian provincial GDP is released by Statistics Canada on an annual basis only, with a significant lag (11 months). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Econometric and statistical methods, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): C, C5, C53, E, E3, E32, E37, R, R1, R11
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 Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Econometric and statistical methods, Economic models JEL Code(s): C, C6, C61, C63, C68, E, E3, E31, E5, E52
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 Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Economic models JEL Code(s): E, E2, E3
May 11, 2017 Why Is Global Business Investment So Weak? Some Insights from Advanced Economies Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2017 Robert Fay, Justin-Damien Guénette, Martin Leduc, Louis Morel Various drivers of business investment can be used to explain the underwhelming performance of investment in advanced economies since the global financial crisis, particularly since 2014. The slow growth in aggregate demand cannot by itself explain the full extent of the recent weakness in investment, which appears to be linked primarily to the collapse of global commodity prices and a rise in economic uncertainty. Looking ahead, business investment growth is likely to remain slower than in the pre-crisis period, largely because of structural factors such as population aging. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Domestic demand and components, Economic models, International topics, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): C, C2, C22, D, D2, D24, D8, D80, E, E2, E22, F, F0, F01, G, G3, G31
Anticipated Technology Shocks: A Re‐Evaluation Using Cointegrated Technologies Staff Working Paper 2017-11 Joel Wagner Two approaches have been taken in the literature to evaluate the relative importance of news shocks as a source of business cycle volatility. The first is an empirical approach that performs a structural vector autoregression to assess the relative importance of news shocks, while the second is a structural-model-based approach. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32
Assessing the Business Outlook Survey Indicator Using Real-Time Data Staff Discussion Paper 2017-5 Lise Pichette, Marie-Noëlle Robitaille Every quarter, the Bank of Canada conducts quarterly consultations with businesses across Canada, referred to as the Business Outlook Survey (BOS). A principal-component analysis conducted by Pichette and Rennison (2011) led to the development of the BOS indicator, which summarizes survey results and is used by the Bank as a gauge of overall business sentiment. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): C, C5, C53, C8, C82, E, E3, E37
March 21, 2017 Getting Down to Business: Investment and the Economic Outlook Remarks Lawrence L. Schembri Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Vancouver, British Columbia Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri discusses the factors affecting business investment and the implications for the economic outlook. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Domestic demand and components, Inflation and prices, Monetary policy, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Recent economic and financial developments
February 9, 2017 Getting to the Core of Inflation Remarks Lawrence L. Schembri Department of Economics, Western University London, Ontario Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri discusses the uses and measures of core inflation in the conduct of monetary policy. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Central bank research, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Monetary policy, Recent economic and financial developments