The Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey: An Assessment Staff Working Paper 2004-15 Monica Martin, Cristiano Papile Since the autumn of 1997, the Bank of Canada's regional offices (located in Halifax, Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver) have conducted consultations with businesses across Canada on a quarterly basis. These consultations are now referred to as the Business Outlook Survey (BOS). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Domestic demand and components JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, E6, E66
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
A Structural Small Open-Economy Model for Canada Staff Working Paper 2004-4 Stephen Murchison, Andrew Rennison, Zhenhua Zhu The authors develop a small open-economy dynamic stochastic general-equilibrium (DSGE) model in an attempt to understand the dynamic relationships in Canadian macroeconomic data. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Economic models, Inflation and prices JEL Code(s): E, E2, E3, E5, E52
Common Trends and Common Cycles in Canadian Sectoral Output Staff Working Paper 2003-44 Francisco Barillas, Christoph Schleicher The authors examine evidence of long- and short-run co-movement in Canadian sectoral output data. Their framework builds on a vector-error-correction representation that allows them to test for and compute full-information maximum-likelihood estimates of models with codependent cycle restrictions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C1, C15, C2, C22, C3, C32, E, E3, E32
Why Does Private Consumption Rise After a Government Spending Shock? Staff Working Paper 2003-43 Hafedh Bouakez, Nooman Rebei Recent empirical evidence suggests that private consumption is crowded-in by government spending. This outcome violates existing macroeconomic theory, according to which the negative wealth effect brought about by a rise in public expenditure should decrease consumption. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Economic models, Fiscal policy JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, E6, E62
Poignée de main invisible et persistance des cycles économiques : une revue de la littérature Staff Working Paper 2003-40 Christian Calmès The author explains how self-enforcing labour contracts can enhance the performance of macroeconomic models. He exposes the benefits of using these dynamic contracts to account for some puzzling macroeconomic facts regarding the dynamics and persistence of employment, consumption and output. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Economic models JEL Code(s): E, E1, E12, E4, E49, J, J3, J30, J31, J4, J41
Governance and Financial Fragility: Evidence from a Cross-Section of Countries Staff Working Paper 2003-34 Michael Francis The author explores the role of governance mechanisms as a means of reducing financial fragility. First, he develops a simple theoretical general-equilibrium model in which instability arises due to an agency problem resulting from a conflict of interest between the borrower and lender. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Financial markets JEL Code(s): G, G0
Nominal Rigidities and Exchange Rate Pass-Through in a Structural Model of a Small Open Economy Staff Working Paper 2003-29 Steve Ambler, Ali Dib, Nooman Rebei The authors analyze exchange rate pass-through in an estimated structural model of a small open economy that incorporates three types of nominal rigidity (wages and the prices of domestically produced and imported goods) and eight different structural shocks. The model is estimated using quarterly data from Canada and the United States. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Economic models, Exchange rates, Inflation and prices, International topics JEL Code(s): F, F2, F3, F31, F33
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
May 22, 2003 Inflation Targeting and Medium-Term Planning: Some Simple Rules of Thumb Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2003 David Longworth Inflation targeting, a stable macroeconomic environment, and an average growth rate for potential output that is not expected to vary much in the next several years all help households, businesses, and governments in their medium-term economic and financial planning. Several simple rules of thumb can be usefully employed in this planning. Specifically, inflation targeting has maintained most major measures of inflation quite close to the target midpoint on average over a number of years. Combined with a clear fiscal framework, this has contributed to a more stable macroeconomic environment in which output varies less around its potential level. Potential output growth is expected to average around 3 per cent over the next several years. In light of these factors and historical relationships, labour income, profits, and consumer spending will likely grow, on average, by about 5 per cent over the medium term. Real and nominal long-term interest rates should also continue to be stable, with real 30-year yields varying around 3.5 or 4.0 per cent, and nominal yields varying around 5.5 or 6.0 per cent. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Inflation targets, Inflation: costs and benefits