How Do People View Price and Wage Inflation? Staff Working Paper 2022-34 Monica Jain, Olena Kostyshyna, Xu Zhang This paper examines household-level data from the Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations (CSCE) to understand households’ expectations about price and wage inflation, how those expectations link to views about labour market conditions and the subsequent impact on households’ outlook for real spending growth. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Monetary policy communications JEL Code(s): C, C8, C83, D, D8, D84, E, E2, E21, E24, E3, E31
A Horse Race of Monetary Policy Regimes: An Experimental Investigation Staff Working Paper 2022-33 Olena Kostyshyna, Luba Petersen, Jing Yang How should central banks design monetary policy in stable times and during recessions? We run a horse race between five monetary policy frameworks in an experimental laboratory to assess how well the different approaches can manage the public’s expectations and stabilize the economy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation targets, Monetary policy, Monetary policy communications, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): C, C9, D, D8, D84, E, E5, E52, E58
Cyber Risk and Security Investment Staff Working Paper 2022-32 Toni Ahnert, Michael Brolley, David Cimon, Ryan Riordan We develop a principal-agent model of cyber-attacking with fee-paying clients who delegate security decisions to financial platforms. We derive testable implications about clients’ vulnerability to cyber attacks and about the fees charged. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Financial services, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): D, D7, D78, D8, D81, G, G1, G18, G2, G21, G23
Dynamic Privacy Choices Staff Working Paper 2022-8 Shota Ichihashi Consumers often express concerns about lack of privacy, but they still give up a lot of data to digital platforms. This paper builds a dynamic game-theoretic model of data collection and privacy protection, which potentially explains consumers’ behaviour. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, D83
The Financial Origins of Non-fundamental Risk Staff Working Paper 2022-4 Sushant Acharya, Keshav Dogra, Sanjay Singh We explore the idea that the financial sector can be a source of non-fundamental risk to the rest of the economy. We also consider whether policy can be used to reduce this risk—either by increasing the supply of publicly backed safe assets or by reducing the demand for safe assets. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Asset pricing, Financial markets, Financial stability JEL Code(s): D, D5, D52, D8, D84, E, E6, E62, G, G1, G10, G12
Firm Inattention and the Efficacy of Monetary Policy: A Text-Based Approach Staff Working Paper 2022-3 Wenting Song, Samuel Stern How much attention do firms pay to macroeconomic news? Through a novel text-based measure, two facts emerge. First, attention is polarized. Most firms either never or always pay attention to economic conditions. Second, it is countercyclical. During recessions, more firms pay attention, and firms pay greater attention to macroeconomic news. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Inflation and prices, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E44, E5, E52
Bitcoin Adoption and Beliefs in Canada Staff Working Paper 2021-60 Daniela Balutel, Christopher Henry, Jorge Vásquez, Marcel Voia Using an economic model as well as survey data from the Bank of Canada, we study what factors influence the adoption of Bitcoin in Canada. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods, Economic models JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, O, O3, O33
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 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
The Effects of Government Licensing on E-commerce: Evidence from Alibaba Staff Working Paper 2021-32 Ginger Zhe Jin, Zhentong Lu, Xiaolu Zhou, Chunxiao Li How does government licensing affect selling on online platforms? We examine the impact of China’s 2015 Food Safety Law on sellers and buyers on Alibaba, the largest e-commerce platform in that country. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Market structure and pricing, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, K, K2, K23, L, L5, L8, L81
Measuring and Evaluating Strategic Communications at the Bank of Canada Staff Discussion Paper 2021-9 Annie Portelance The Bank of Canada’s Communications Department has developed a framework to quantify and qualify the Bank’s communications efforts and their results. Using data-based measurement and evaluation, the department can assess the impact of the Bank’s communications activities and gauge the department’s contribution to the Bank’s overall goals. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Credibility, Monetary policy communications JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83