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
May 25, 1999 Bank of Canada Announces Appointment of Special Adviser Media Relations Professor Daniel Racette has been chosen to fill the visiting economist position of Special Adviser in the Bank of Canada for a one-year term beginning in August 1999. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
May 19, 1999 Monetary Policy Report – May 1999 Six months ago, at the time of the last Monetary Policy Report, the global economic and financial environment was volatile and highly uncertain because of the adverse situation in Asia and the fallout from the Russian debt moratorium. Content Type(s): Publications, Monetary Policy Report
May 19, 1999 Release of the Monetary Policy Report Opening statement Gordon Thiessen This morning we released our ninth Monetary Policy Report. The economic and financial situation is much improved since our previous Report in November. Financial markets have steadied in Southeast Asia, and prospects are good for a gradual recovery there. In Brazil, the authorities have taken major steps to address their difficulties. Overall, global financial markets […] Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Opening statements
May 19, 1999 Bank of Canada releases its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report Media Relations Bank of Canada Governor Gordon Thiessen today commented on the release of the Bank's ninth Monetary Policy Report. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
May 15, 1999 Recent developments in the monetary aggregates and their implications Bank of Canada Review - Spring 1999 Joseph Atta-Mensah, Loretta Nott In its conduct of monetary policy, the Bank of Canada carefully monitors the pace of monetary expansion for indications about the outlook for inflation and economic activity. In recent years, a number of factors have distorted the growth of the traditional broad and narrow aggregates. In this article, the authors discuss the uncertainty surrounding the classification of deposit instruments that has resulted from the elimination of reserve requirements and from other financial innovations. They introduce two new measures of transactions balances, M1+ and M1++ (described more fully in a technical note in this issue of the Review), that internalize some of the substitutions that have occurred. They attribute the deceleration in M1 growth in 1998 partly to the declining influence of special factors, partly to a lagged response to interest rate increases in 1997 and early 1998, and partly to some temporary tightening in credit conditions in the autumn of 1998. The broad monetary aggregate M2++, which includes all personal savings deposits, life insurance annuities, and mutual funds, grew at a steady pace in 1998, presaging growth of about 4 to 5 per cent in total dollar spending and inflation inside the target range. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Monetary aggregates