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 Research Topic(s): Inflation: costs and benefits, Interest rates, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, E47, E5, E52
Can Affine Term Structure Models Help Us Predict Exchange Rates? Staff Working Paper 2006-27 Antonio Diez de los Rios The author proposes an arbitrage-free model of the joint behaviour of interest and exchange rates whose exchange rate forecasts outperform those produced by a random-walk model, a vector autoregression on the forward premiums and the rate of depreciation, and the standard forward premium regression. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Exchange rates, Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, F, F3, F31, G, G1, G12, G15
The Canadian Macroeconomy and the Yield Curve: An Equilibrium-Based Approach Staff Working Paper 2005-36 René Garcia, Richard Luger The authors develop and estimate an equilibrium-based model of the Canadian term structure of interest rates. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, E44, E47, E5, E52
Real Return Bonds, Inflation Expectations, and the Break-Even Inflation Rate Staff Working Paper 2004-43 Ian Christensen, Christopher Reid, Frédéric Dion According to the Fisher hypothesis, the gap between Canadian nominal and Real Return Bond yields (or break-even inflation rate) should be a good measure of inflation expectations. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Interest rates, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E4, E43
Convergence of Government Bond Yields in the Euro Zone: The Role of Policy Harmonization Staff Working Paper 2004-23 Denise Côté, Christopher Graham Since the early 1980s, long-term government bond yields in the euro zone have declined, in line with those in other industrialized countries. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Interest rates, International topics JEL Code(s): C, C2, C23, E, E4, E43, E44, F, F3, F36
Estimating the Fractional Order of Integration of Interest Rates Using a Wavelet OLS Estimator Staff Working Paper 2000-5 Greg Tkacz The debate on the order of integration of interest rates has long focused on the I(1) versus I(0) distinction. In this paper, we use instead the wavelet OLS estimator of Jensen (1999) to estimate the fractional integration parameters of several interest rates for the United States and Canada from 1948 to 1999. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Interest rates JEL Code(s): C, C1, C13, E, E4, E43
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 Research Topic(s): Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43
Uncovering Inflation Expectations and Risk Premiums From Internationally Integrated Financial Markets Staff Working Paper 1999-6 Ben Fung, Scott Mitnick, Eli Remolona Theory and empirical evidence suggest that the term structure of interest rates reflects risk premiums as well as market expectations about future inflation and real interest rates. We propose an approach to extracting such premiums and expectations by exploiting both the comovements among interest rates across the yield curve and between two countries, Canada and […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial markets, Inflation and prices, Interest rates, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, G, G1, G12, G15
Predicting Canadian Recessions Using Financial Variables: A Probit Approach Staff Working Paper 1998-5 Joseph Atta-Mensah, Greg Tkacz This paper examines the ability of a number of financial variables to predict Canadian recessions. Regarding methodology, we follow closely the technique employed by Estrella and Mishkin (1998), who use a probit model to predict U.S. recessions up to eight quarters in advance. Our main finding is that the spread between the yield on Canadian […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, E4, E43
Canadian Short-Term Interest Rates and the BAX Futures Market: Analysis of the Impact of Volatility on Hedging Activity and the Correlation of Returns between Markets Staff Working Paper 1997-18 David Watt This paper analyses how Canadian financial firms manage short-term interest rate risk through the use of BAX futures contracts. The results show that the most effective hedging strategy is, on average, a static strategy based on linear regression that assumes constant variances, even though dynamic models allowing for time-varying variances are found to have superior explanatory power. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial markets, Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43