August 14, 1999 Passive Money, Active Money, and Monetary Policy Bank of Canada Review - Summer 1999 David Laidler This article by the Bank's visiting economist examines the role of money in the transmission of monetary policy. Professor Laidler argues against the view of money as a passive variable that reacts to changes in prices, output, and interest rates but has no direct causative effect on them. He maintains that the empirical evidence supports the view of money playing an active role in the transmission mechanism. While he agrees that individual monetary aggregates can be difficult to read because of instabilities in the demand-for-money function, he argues that monetary aggregates, particularly those relating to transactions money, should have a more significant place in the hierarchy of policy variables that the Bank considers when formulating monetary policy. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Monetary aggregates, Monetary policy transmission
August 13, 1999 Recent Initiatives in the Canadian Market for Government of Canada Securities Bank of Canada Review - Summer 1999 Nancy Harvey The initiatives reviewed by the author were undertaken to ensure a liquid and well-functioning market for Government of Canada securities in light of the significant shift in the government's financial position. They include changes made in 1998 by the Bank of Canada and the government to the rules governing auctions and to the Bank's surveillance of the auction process, changes to the treasury bill and bond programs, and implementation of a pilot buyback program for Government of Canada marketable bonds. In addition, the Investment Dealers Association of Canada adopted a code of conduct for the secondary market. These initiatives were well received by the market and appear to have had a positive impact. The Bank and the government are, however, continuing their search for ways to maintain and enhance the efficiency of this market. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial markets
August 12, 1999 Recent Developments in Global Commodity Prices: Implications for Canada Bank of Canada Review - Summer 1999 Farid Novin, Gerald Stuber The authors examine the recent evolution of commodity prices. They discuss the factors behind the price declines that occurred between the summer of 1997 and the end of 1998, including the key supply factors and the drop in Asian demand caused by that region's concurrent financial and economic crisis. They then review the effects of the reduction in world commodity prices on economic activity in Canada. They point out that the depreciation of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar, together with the continued strength of the U.S. economy, has partly offset the negative effects on Canadian aggregate demand. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial markets
August 11, 1999 Preparations by the Canadian Financial Sector for the Year 2000 Bank of Canada Review - Summer 1999 Clyde Goodlet This article outlines the extensive work undertaken by the various participants in Canada's financial sector to ensure "business as usual" heading into January 2000 and beyond. The article looks at preparations in the Bank of Canada's own mission-critical systems and at those of the country's major clearing and settlement systems for which the Bank has oversight responsibility. It also looks at the steps taken by the financial institutions themselves. Contingency planning that takes account of specific year-2000 concerns is also reviewed. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial institutions
Greater Transparency in Monetary Policy: Impact on Financial Markets Technical Report No. 86 Philippe Muller, Mark Zelmer Measures have been taken by the Bank of Canada to increase the transparency of Canadian monetary policy. This paper examines whether the greater transparency has improved financial markets' understanding of the conduct of monetary policy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Financial markets, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, G, G1, G14
Why Canada Needs a Flexible Exchange Rate Staff Working Paper 1999-12 John Murray This paper explores the arguments for and against a common currency for Canada and the United States and attempts to determine whether such an arrangement would offer any significant advantages for Canada compared with the present flexible exchange rate system. The paper first reviews the theoretical arguments advanced in the economics literature in support of fixed and flexible currency arrangements. A discussion of Canada's past experience with the two exchange rate systems follows, after which there is a survey of the empirical evidence published on Canada's current and prospective suitability for some form of fixed currency arrangement with the United States. The final section of the paper examines critically a number of concerns raised about the behaviour of the current flexible exchange rate system. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rates JEL Code(s): F, F3, F31
Liquidity of the Government of Canada Securities Market: Stylized Facts and Some Market Microstructure Comparisons to the United States Treasury Market Staff Working Paper 1999-11 Toni Gravelle The aims of this study are to examine how liquidity in the Government of Canada securities market has evolved over the 1990s and to determine what factors influence the level of liquidity in this market, with some comparisons to the U.S. Treasury securities market. We find empirical support for the hypothesis that an increase in […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets JEL Code(s): D, D4, G, G1, G2
June 2, 1999 Canadian economic performance at the end of the twentieth century Remarks Gordon Thiessen the Canada Club London, United Kingdom As the curtain comes down on the twentieth century and we move on to the next millennium, it is difficult to resist the temptation to be both retrospective and prospective. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks
May 27, 1999 Bank of Canada Announces Appointment of Senior Deputy Governor Media Relations The Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada announced today that, pursuant to Section 6 of the Bank of Canada Act, Malcolm Knight has been appointed Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank for a seven-year term, effective 5 July 1999. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
May 26, 1999 Opening Statement before the Standing Committee on Finance of the House of Commons Opening statement Gordon Thiessen Standing Committee on Finance of the House of Commons It is always a pleasure to appear before your Committee following the publication of our Monetary Policy Report. We released our ninth Report last Wednesday. The Bank of Canada began publishing these Reports on a semi-annual basis four years ago, as part of our effort to increase the transparency and accountability of the Bank's conduct of monetary policy. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Opening statements