The Welfare Implications of Fiscal Dominance Staff Working Paper 2008-28 Carlos De Resende, Nooman Rebei This paper studies the interdependence between fiscal and monetary policy in a DSGE model with sticky prices and non-zero trend inflation. We characterize the fiscal and monetary policies by a rule whereby a given fraction k of the government debt must be backed by the discounted value of current and future primary surpluses. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Fiscal policy, Inflation: costs and benefits, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E4, E42, E5, E50, E6, E63
Are Bygones not Bygones? Modeling Price Level Targeting with an Escape Clause and Lessons from the Gold Standard Staff Working Paper 2008-27 Paul Masson, Malik Shukayev Like the gold standard, price level targeting (PT) involves not letting past deviations of inflation be bygones; both regimes return the price level (or price of gold) to its target. The experience of suspension of the gold standard in World War I, resumption in the 1920s (for some countries at a different parity), and final abandonment is reviewed. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Credibility, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52
Merchant Acceptance, Costs, and Perceptions of Retail Payments: A Canadian Survey Staff Discussion Paper 2008-12 Carlos Arango, Varya Taylor Using the results of a survey on accepted means of payment, the authors examine merchant preferences and perceptions of retail payment reliability, risk, and costs; the share of each type of payment method over total sales; and the costs involved in accepting payments. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, L, L2
Price-Level versus Inflation Targeting with Financial Market Imperfections Staff Working Paper 2008-26 Francisco Covas, Yahong Zhang This paper compares price-level-path targeting (PT) with inflation targeting (IT) in a sticky-price, dynamic, general equilibrium model augmented with imperfections in both the debt and equity markets. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E4, E40, E5, E50
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
A Structural VAR Approach to Core Inflation in Canada Staff Discussion Paper 2008-10 Sylvain Martel The author constructs a measure of core inflation using a structural vector autoregression containing oil-price growth, output growth, and inflation. This "macro-founded" measure of inflation forecasts total inflation at least as well as other, atheoretical measures. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Inflation and prices JEL Code(s): C, C5, C53, E, E3, E31
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
On the Amplification Role of Collateral Constraints Staff Working Paper 2008-23 Caterina Mendicino Following the seminal contribution of Kiyotaki and Moore (1997), the role of collateral constraints for business cycle fluctuations has been highlighted by several authors and collateralized debt is becoming a popular feature of business cycle models. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Credit and credit aggregates JEL Code(s): E, E2, E20, E3, E32
Inflation, Nominal Portfolios, and Wealth Redistribution in Canada Staff Working Paper 2008-19 Césaire Meh, Yaz Terajima There is currently a policy debate on potential refinements to monetary policy regimes in countries with low and stable inflation such as the U.S. and Canada. For example, in Canada, a systematic review of the current inflation targeting framework is underway. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Inflation: costs and benefits, Monetary policy framework, Sectoral balance sheet JEL Code(s): D, D3, D31, D5, D58, E, E3, E31, E5, E50
Policy Coordination in an International Payment System Staff Working Paper 2008-17 James Chapman Given the increasing interdependence of both financial systems and attendant payment and settlement systems a vital question is what form should optimal policy take when there are two connected payment systems with separate regulators. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Exchange rate regimes, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E58, F, F3, F31, F33