October 8, 2006 Modelling Financial Channels for Monetary Policy Analysis Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2006 Ian Christensen, Ben Fung, Césaire Meh The Bank of Canada considers a wide range of information and analysis before making a monetary policy decision and uses carefully articulated models to produce economic projections and to examine alternative scenarios. This article describes an ongoing research agenda at the Bank to develop models in which financial variables play an active role in the transmission of monetary policy actions to economic activity. Such models can help to analyze information from the financial side of the economy and to provide an overall view of the implications of financial developments for the current economic outlook. The authors also explain how this research can help address other issues relevant to the objectives of monetary policy, including how asset-price movements should be taken into account in the monetary policy framework. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Economic models, Monetary policy transmission
Survey of Price-Setting Behaviour of Canadian Companies Staff Working Paper 2006-35 David Amirault, Carolyn Kwan, Gordon Wilkinson In many mainstream macroeconomic models, sticky prices play an important role in explaining the effects of monetary policy on the economy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): D, D4, D40, E, E3, E30, L, L1, L11
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 Topic(s): Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission
Endogenous Central Bank Credibility in a Small Forward-Looking Model of the U.S. Economy Staff Working Paper 2005-16 René Lalonde The linkages between inflation and the economy's cyclical position are thought to be strongly affected by the credibility of monetary authorities. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Inflation and prices, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): C, C3, C32, E, E5, E52
December 23, 2004 A Survey of the Price-Setting Behaviour of Canadian Companies Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2004-2005 David Amirault, Carolyn Kwan, Gordon Wilkinson To better understand price-setting behaviour in the Canadian economy, the Bank of Canada's regional offices surveyed a representative sample of 170 firms between July 2002 and March 2003. The authors discuss the reasons behind the survey, the methodology used to develop the questionnaire and conduct the interviews, and summarize the results. The study also assessed several explanations for holding prices steady despite market pressures for a change. The survey findings indicate that prices in Canada are relatively flexible and have become more flexible over the past decade. Price stickiness was generally found to originate in firms' fears of antagonizing customers or disturbing the goodwill or reputation developed with them. A detailed discussion of the results includes a consideration of their implications for monetary policy. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Monetary policy transmission
The Transmission of World Shocks to Emerging-Market Countries: An Empirical Analysis Staff Working Paper 2004-44 Brigitte Desroches The first step in designing effective policies to stabilize an economy is to understand business cycles. No country is isolated from the world economy and external shocks are becoming increasingly important. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rate regimes, International topics, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E3, E30, E32, E6, E61, F, F0, F02
The Implications of Transmission and Information Lags for the Stabilization Bias and Optimal Delegation Staff Working Paper 2004-37 Jean-Paul Lam, Florian Pelgrin In two recent papers, Jensen (2002) and Walsh (2003), using a hybrid New Keynesian model, demonstrate that a regime that targets either nominal income growth or the change in the output gap can effectively replicate the outcome under commitment and hence reduce the size of the stabilization bias. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation targets, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, E6, E62
Bank Capital, Agency Costs, and Monetary Policy Staff Working Paper 2004-6 Césaire Meh, Kevin Moran Evidence suggests that banks, like firms, face financial frictions when raising funds. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Financial institutions, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, E5, E52, G, G2, G21
Simple Monetary Policy Rules in an Open-Economy, Limited-Participation Model Staff Working Paper 2003-38 Scott Hendry, Wai-Ming Ho, Kevin Moran The authors assess the stabilization properties of simple monetary policy rules within the context of a small open-economy model constructed around the limited-participation assumption and calibrated to salient features of the Canadian economy. By relying on limited participation as the main nominal friction that affects the artificial economy, the authors provide an important check of the robustness of the results obtained using alternative environments in the literature on monetary policy rules, most notably the now-standard "New Keynesian" paradigm that emphasizes rigidities in the price-setting mechanism. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, E5, E52, E58, F, F3, F31
Monetary Policy in Estimated Models of Small Open and Closed Economies Staff Working Paper 2003-27 Ali Dib The author develops and estimates a quantitative dynamic-optimizing model of a small open economy (SOE) with domestic and import price stickiness and capital-adjustment costs. A monetary policy rule allows the central bank to systematically manage the short-term nominal interest rate in response to deviations of inflation, output, and money growth from their steadystate levels. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Exchange rates, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52, F, F2, F3