November 13, 2014 Recent Developments in Experimental Macroeconomics Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2014 Robert Amano, Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Luba Petersen This article describes experimental economics, in general, and new developments in experimental macroeconomics, in particular. The approach has a clear niche in providing evidence on economic phenomena that cannot be observed directly or that are difficult to measure. Experimental work conducted by Bank of Canada economists has shed light on a number of issues important to monetary policy, such as the relative efficacy between price-level and inflation targeting, and the nature of inflation expectations formation. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): C, C9, E, E3, E31, E5, E52
November 13, 2014 Should Forward Guidance Be Backward-Looking? Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2014 Rhys R. Mendes, Stephen Murchison When constrained by the zero lower bound, some central banks have communicated a threshold that must be met before short-term interest rates would be permitted to rise. Simulation results for Canada show that forward guidance that is conditional on achieving a price-level threshold can theoretically raise demand and inflation expectations by significantly more than unemployment thresholds. This superior performance is attributable to the fact that the price-level threshold depends on past inflation outcomes. In practice, however, history-dependent thresholds such as this might be more challenging for central banks to communicate. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58
November 13, 2014 Spillover Effects of Quantitative Easing on Emerging-Market Economies Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2014 Robert Lavigne, Subrata Sarker, Garima Vasishtha While quantitative easing (QE) in the United States likely increased capital flows to emerging-market economies (EMEs), putting upward pressure on asset prices and exchange rates, diverging fundamentals between advanced economies and EMEs were also important drivers. Evidence suggests that the benefits of QE to EMEs, in higher global demand and increased confidence, appear to outweigh the costs. When advanced economies begin to normalize monetary policy, the best defence for EMEs against any potential instability is likely to be further strengthening of their macroeconomic and financial policy frameworks. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): International financial markets, International topics, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, F, F3, F32, F4, F41, F42
On the Importance of Sales for Aggregate Price Flexibility Staff Working Paper 2014-45 Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Nicolas Vincent Macroeconomists have traditionally ignored the behavior of temporary price markdowns (“sales”) by retailers. Although sales are common in the micro price data, they are assumed to be unrelated to macroeconomic phenomena and generally filtered out. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Economic models, Inflation and prices, Market structure and pricing, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E32, E5, E52, L, L1, L11, L2, L25, L8, L81, M, M3, M31
Integrating Uncertainty and Monetary Policy-Making: A Practitioner’s Perspective Staff Discussion Paper 2014-6 Stephen S. Poloz This paper discusses how central banking is evolving in light of recent experience, with particular emphasis on the incorporation of uncertainty into policy decision-making. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Economic models, Financial stability, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Monetary policy communications, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): C, C5, C50, E, E3, E37, E5, E6, E61
International Transmission Channels of U.S. Quantitative Easing: Evidence from Canada Staff Working Paper 2014-43 Tatjana Dahlhaus, Abeer Reza, Kristina Hess The U.S. Federal Reserve responded to the great recession by reducing policy rates to the effective lower bound. In order to provide further monetary stimulus, they subsequently conducted large-scale asset purchases, quadrupling their balance sheet in the process. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): International topics, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): C, C3, C32, E, E5, E52, E58, F, F4, F42, F44
The Neutral Rate of Interest in Canada Staff Discussion Paper 2014-5 Rhys R. Mendes A measure of the neutral policy interest rate can be used to gauge the stance of monetary policy. We define the neutral rate as the real policy rate consistent with output at its potential level and inflation equal to target after the effects of all cyclical shocks have dissipated. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Interest rates, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E4, E40, E42, E43, E5, E50, E52, E58
Global Inflation Dynamics in the Post-Crisis Period: What Explains the Twin Puzzle? Staff Working Paper 2014-36 Christian Friedrich Inflation dynamics in advanced countries have produced two consecutive puzzles during the years after the global financial crisis. The first puzzle emerged when inflation rates over the period 2009-11 were consistently higher than expected, although economic slack in advanced countries reached its highest level in recent history. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Fiscal policy, Inflation and prices, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, F, F4, F41
Housework and Fiscal Expansions Staff Working Paper 2014-34 Stefano Gnocchi, Daniela Hauser, Evi Pappa We build an otherwise-standard business cycle model with housework, calibrated consistently with data on time use, in order to discipline consumption-hours complementarity and relate its strength to the size of fiscal multipliers. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Fiscal policy JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E3, E32, E5, E52, E6, E62
Understanding the Cash Demand Puzzle Staff Working Paper 2014-22 Janet Hua Jiang, Enchuan Shao We develop a model to explain a puzzling trend in cash demand in recent years: the value of bank notes in circulation as a percentage of GDP has remained stable despite decreasing cash usage at points of sale owing to competition from alternative means of payment such as credit cards. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Credit and credit aggregates, Digital currencies and fintech JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E5, E51