December 15, 1999 The Exchange Rate, Productivity, and the Standard of Living Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1999–2000 Robert Lafrance, Lawrence L. Schembri This article examines the recent proposition that the decline in Canada's standard of living relative to that of the United States is causally related to the decline in our exchange rate. The authors explore the main channels through which the exchange rate and the standard of living could be related—productivity and the terms of trade—focusing mainly on productivity. They conclude that the decline in world commodity prices and weak demand for domestic output were affecting both Canada's standard of living and the exchange rate and that the flexible exchange rate regime itself did not play an independent role. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Exchange rates
December 14, 1999 Trends in Canada's Merchandise Trade Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1999–2000 Richard Dion The author examines aspects of Canada's trade performance in light of the major trends seen in world trade over the past several decades. Canada has become more integrated with the world economy, and this openness is evident from its greater export orientation, its heavier reliance on imported inputs, and more exposure to foreign competition in its domestic markets. The author analyzes the composition of Canadian trade and the trend towards increasing two-way trade in similar products. He also looks at the increasing integration of trade within regions, which for Canada has meant a greater concentration of exports with the United States. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): International topics
December 13, 1999 Feedback Rules for Inflation Control: An Overview of Recent Literature Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1999–2000 Agathe Côté, Jamie Armour Feedback rules are rules aimed at guiding policy-makers as they face the problem of keeping inflation close to a desired path without causing variability elsewhere in the economy. These rules link short-term interest rates, controlled by the central bank, to the rate of inflation and/or its deviation from a target rate. The authors describe the most popular types of feedback rules and review some simulation results. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Interest rates
December 6, 1999 The Canadian economy, productivity, and our standard of living Remarks Gordon Thiessen The Fraser Institute Vancouver, British Columbia Over the past couple of years, there has been considerable debate about productivity and our standard of living in Canada. For the most part, the discussion of these issues has been useful, but at times it has been somewhat confusing. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks
December 6, 1999 Bank of Canada Governor speaks to The Fraser Institute Media Relations Vancouver, British Columbia There is increasing international consensus that monetary policy can contribute to productivity growth and rising standards of living by establishing a stable, low-inflation environment, Bank of Canada Governor Gordon Thiessen told The Fraser Institute in a speech today. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
The Expectations Hypothesis for the Longer End of the Term Structure: Some Evidence for Canada Staff Working Paper 1999-20 Ron Lange This paper assesses the expectations theory for the longer end of the term structure of Canadian interest rates using three empirical approaches that have received attention in the literature: (i) cointegration tests of the long-run unbiasedness hypothesis; (ii) simulations of a theoretical long-term yield that is consistent with the expectations hypothesis, and (iii) ex post […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43
November 17, 1999 Monetary Policy Report – November 1999 Since the May Report, the international economic environment has continued to improve. Economic activity abroad grew faster than expected, while inflation in the major economies remained subdued. Content Type(s): Publications, Monetary Policy Report
November 17, 1999 Release of the Monetary Policy Report Opening statement Gordon Thiessen Good morning. The Bank of Canada has just released its tenth Monetary Policy Report. This morning, we also raised our target for the overnight interest rate by 1/4 of one percentage point to 4 3/4 per cent. This follows a similar increase yesterday in the U.S. Federal Funds rate to 5 ½ per cent. The […] Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Opening statements
November 17, 1999 Bank of Canada releases its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report Media Relations Today the Bank of Canada released its tenth Monetary Policy Report in which it discusses economic and financial trends in the context of Canada's inflation-control strategy. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
November 17, 1999 Bank Rate Raised by ¼ Percentage Point to 5 Per Cent Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario The Bank of Canada today raised its Bank Rate by ¼ of one percentage point to 5 per cent. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases