Market Structure and the Diffusion of E-Commerce: Evidence from the Retail Banking Industry Staff Working Paper 2008-32 Jason Allen, Robert Clark, Jean-François Houde This paper studies the role that market structure plays in affecting the diffusion of electronic banking. Electronic banking (and electronic commerce more generally) reduces the cost of performing many types of transactions for firms. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): D, D1, D14, D4, G, G2, G21, L, L1
Non-Linearities, Model Uncertainty, and Macro Stress Testing Staff Working Paper 2008-30 Miroslav Misina, David Tessier A distinguishing feature of macro stress testing exercises is the use of macroeconomic models in scenario design and implementation. It is widely agreed that scenarios should be based on "rare but plausible" events that have either resulted in vulnerabilities in the past or could do so in the future. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial stability JEL Code(s): C, C1, C15, G, G2, G21, G3, G33
Macroeconomic Determinants of the Term Structure of Corporate Spreads Staff Working Paper 2008-29 Jun Yang We investigate the macroeconomic determinants of corporate spreads using a no-arbitrage technique. Structural shocks are identified by a New-Keynesian model. Treasury bonds are priced in an affine model with time-varying risk premia. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Debt management, Financial markets, Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, E44, G, G1, G12
Good Policies or Good Fortune: What Drives the Compression in Emerging Market Spreads? Staff Working Paper 2008-25 Philipp Maier, Garima Vasishtha Since 2002, spreads on emerging market sovereign debt have fallen to historical lows. Given the close links between sovereign spreads, capital flows to emerging markets, and economic growth, understanding the factors driving these spreads is very important. We address this issue in two stages. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Development economics, Financial stability, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, F, F3, F34, G, G1, G12, G15
Liquidity Efficiency and Distribution in the LVTS: Non-Neutrality of System Changes under Network Asymmetry Staff Discussion Paper 2008-11 Sean O'Connor, James Chapman, Kirby Millar The authors consider the liquidity efficiency of Tranche 2 of the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS T2) by examining, through an empirical analysis, some plausible strategic reactions of individual participants to a systemwide shock to available liquidity in the system. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial services, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G2, G21, L, L1, L13, L14
The Implementation of Monetary Policy in Canada Staff Discussion Paper 2008-9 Walter Engert, Toni Gravelle, Donna Howard The authors present a detailed discussion of the Bank of Canada's framework for the implementation of monetary policy. As background, they provide a brief overview of the financial system in Canada, including a discussion of the financial services industry and the money market. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Monetary policy implementation, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, G, G2, G21
Information Shocks, Jumps, and Price Discovery - Evidence from the U.S. Treasury Market Staff Working Paper 2008-22 George Jiang, Ingrid Lo, Adrien Verdelhan We examine large price changes, known as jumps, in the U.S. Treasury market. Using recently developed statistical tools, we identify price jumps in the 2-, 3-, 5-, 10-year notes and 30-year bond during the period of 2005-2006. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial markets JEL Code(s): G, G1, G12, G14
The Cost of Equity in Canada: An International Comparison Staff Working Paper 2008-21 Jonathan Witmer This paper calculates an implied cost of equity for 19 developed countries from 1991 to 2006. During this period, there has been a decline in the cost of equity of about 10-15 bps per year, which can be partially attributed to declining government yields and declining inflation. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial markets, International topics JEL Code(s): G, G3, G30, G38
The Effect of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on CEO Pay for Luck Staff Working Paper 2008-20 Teodora Paligorova According to the rent-extraction hypothesis, weak corporate governance allows entrenched CEOs to capture the pay-setting process and benefit from events outside of their control – get paid for luck. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Labour markets JEL Code(s): G, G3, G38, J, J3, J33, M, M5, M52
On Portfolio Separation Theorems with Heterogeneous Beliefs and Attitudes towards Risk Staff Working Paper 2008-16 Fousseni Chabi-Yo, Eric Ghysels, Eric Renault The early work of Tobin (1958) showed that portfolio allocation decisions can be reduced to a two stage process: first decide the relative allocation of assets across the risky assets, and second decide how to divide total wealth between the risky assets and the safe asset. This so called twofund separation relies on special assumptions on either returns or preferences. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): C, C5, C52, D, D5, D58, G, G1, G11, G12