Should Central Banks Adjust Their Target Horizons in Response to House-Price Bubbles? Staff Discussion Paper 2007-4 Meenakshi Basant Roi, Rhys R. Mendes The authors investigate the implications of house-price bubbles for the optimal inflation-target horizon using a dynamic general-equilibrium model with credit frictions, house-price bubbles, and small open-economy features. They find that, given the distribution of shocks and inflation persistence over the past 25 years, the optimal target horizon for Canada tends to be at the lower […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Credit and credit aggregates, Economic models, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E44, E5, E52, E58, E6, E61
Modelling Payments Systems: A Review of the Literature Staff Working Paper 2007-28 Jonathan Chiu, Alexandra Lai Payments systems play a fundamental role in an economy by providing the mechanisms through which payments arising from transactions can be settled. The existing literature on the economics of payments systems is large but loosely organized, in that each model uses a distinct set-up and sometimes a distinct equilibrium concept. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E58, G, G2, G21
Corporate Balance Sheets in Developed Economies: Implications for Investment Staff Working Paper 2007-24 Denise Côté, Christopher Graham In this paper, the authors examine the aggregate national balance-sheets of non-financial corporations in Australia and the G7 countries with a view to assessing both their financial structure and their financial position. More importantly, the authors investigate whether the financial position of non-financial corporations (i.e., debt-to-equity ratio) is material to the economy's investment prospects and whether the importance of this channel differs depending on the structure of corporate financing i.e., bank-based or market-oriented financing structures. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E2, E22, E3, E32, E4, E44
A No-Arbitrage Analysis of Macroeconomic Determinants of Term Structures and the Exchange Rate Staff Working Paper 2007-21 Fousseni Chabi-Yo, Jun Yang We study the joint dynamics of macroeconomic variables, bond yields, and the exchange rate in an empirical two-country New-Keynesian model complemented with a no-arbitrage term structure model. With Canadian and US data, we are able to study the impact of macroeconomic shocks from both countries on their yield curves and the exchange rate. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Debt management, Econometric and statistical methods, Exchange rates, Financial markets, Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E1, E12, E4, E43, F, F4, F41, G, G1, G12, G15
The Zero Bound on Nominal Interest Rates: Implications for the Optimal Monetary Policy in Canada Staff Discussion Paper 2007-1 Claude Lavoie, Hope Pioro The authors assess the performance of the Canadian economy under a variety of interest rate rules when the zero bound on nominal interest rates can bind. Their assessment is based on numerical simulations of a dynamic stochastic general-equilibrium model in a stochastic environment. Consistent with the literature, the authors find that the probability and consequences […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Inflation: costs and benefits, Interest rates, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, E47, E5, E52
Firms Dynamics, Bankruptcy Laws and Total Factor Productivity Staff Working Paper 2007-17 Hajime Tomura This paper analyzes endogenous fluctuations in total factor productivity (TFP) in a dynamic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents, and illustrates the interaction of credit market frictions, asset prices, the entry and exit of firms, and fluctuations in TFP in response to firm-level productivity and aggregate credit-market shocks. I also analyze the effect of bankruptcy and foreclosure laws on fluctuations in TFP through their effect on credit market frictions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial stability, Productivity JEL Code(s): D, D2, D24, E, E4, E44, G, G3, G33
World Real Interest Rates: A Global Savings and Investment Perspective Staff Working Paper 2007-16 Brigitte Desroches, Michael Francis Over the past 15 years, long-term interest rates have declined to levels not seen since the 1970s. This paper explores possible shifts in global savings and investment that have led to this fall in the world real interest rate. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Interest rates, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E2, E4, F, F3
Uncollateralized Overnight Loans Settled in LVTS Staff Working Paper 2007-11 Scott Hendry, Nadja Kamhi Loan-level data on the uncollateralized overnight loan market is generated using payment data from Canada's Large Value Transfer System (LVTS) and a modified version of the methodology proposed in Furfine (1999). There were on average just under 100 loans extended in this market each day from March 2004 to March 2006 for a total daily value of about $5 billion. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, E5, E50, G, G1, G12
Modelling Term-Structure Dynamics for Risk Management: A Practitioner's Perspective Staff Working Paper 2006-48 David Bolder Modelling term-structure dynamics is an important component in measuring and managing the exposure of portfolios to adverse movements in interest rates. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial markets, Interest rates JEL Code(s): C, C0, C6, E, E4, G, G1
ToTEM: The Bank of Canada's New Quarterly Projection Model Technical Report No. 97 Stephen Murchison, Andrew Rennison The authors provide a detailed technical description of the Terms-of-Trade Economic Model (ToTEM), which replaced the Quarterly Projection Model (QPM) in December 2005 as the Bank's principal projection and policy-analysis model for the Canadian economy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Economic models JEL Code(s): E, E1, E17, E2, E20, E3, E30, E4, E40, E5, E50, F, F4, F41