December 8, 1994 Some macroeconomic implications of rising levels of government debt Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1994-1995 Tiff Macklem The level of government debt in Canada relative to gross domestic product has risen steadily since the mid-1970s. Canada has not been alone in experiencing rising government indebtedness, but in comparison to other countries, Canada's debt load is now distinctly on the high side. The author reviews some of the effects of rising government debt levels on macroeconomic performance and provides some calculations aimed at illustrating their possible long-run impact on the Canadian economy. His analysis, which is based on a model of the Canadian economy used at the Bank of Canada, suggests that higher levels of government debt reduce both the level of output and the share of output that is available for domestic consumption. The central policy implication is that there are substantial benefits to halting the rise in government debt and thus preventing further erosion of consumption opportunities. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Fiscal policy, Recent economic and financial developments
December 7, 1994 Repo, reverse repo and securities lending markets in Canada Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1994-1995 Ron Morrow Repurchase agreements (repos), reverse repos and securities lending markets permit a variety of institutions to conduct a broad range of financial transactions efficiently. In addition, they allow financial market participants to augment the returns on their cash holdings and securities portfolios. Canadian repo and securities lending markets have grown rapidly in recent years, following the expansion of such markets in major financial centres around the world; the volume of transactions in Canada now averages between $35 billion and $50 billion per day. The author notes that structural and regulatory changes in Canada have played important roles in promoting this growth. The vast majority of repo and securities lending transactions involve securities issued by the Government of Canada—principally Government of Canada bonds. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial markets
Searching for the Liquidity Effect in Canada Staff Working Paper 1994-12 Ben Fung, Rohit Gupta This paper examines the empirical evidence of the liquidity effect in Canada. In the presence of the liquidity effect, the initial impact of an unanticipated expansionary monetary policy is to lower nominal and real interest rates for a short period of time. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Monetary aggregates
November 9, 1994 The Bank of Canada's new Quarterly Projection Model (QPM): An introduction Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 1994 Stephen S. Poloz, David Rose, Robert Tetlow This article provides an overview of the Bank of Canada's new economic model, the Quarterly Projection Model (QPM), which has been under development at the Bank since 1989. The model has two roles. It is used to make economic projections, which are conducted quarterly and form an important basis for discussions of monetary policy between staff and senior management. QPM is also a research tool: it was developed to analyse important changes to the economy or macroeconomic policies which require a deeper understanding of long-term economic forces. The model pays particular attention to factors shaping long-term equilibrium, such as stocks of wealth, capital, government debt and net foreign assets. Various sources of dynamics, including the adjustment of forward-looking expectations, operate to determine the transition path to equilibrium and the consistency of expectations. The article discusses the history of QPM and earlier economic models at the Bank, and provides a simple overview of how the model works. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Economic models
November 9, 1994 Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 1994 Cover page Roman Republic: Denarius, 108–107 BC To the left of the figure is the name of the moneyer M. Herenni (Marcus Herennius), and to the right is the control mark, a horizontal P and dot. About the size of a 10-cent piece, this denarius is part of the National Currency Collection, Bank of Canada. Photography by James Zagon. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review
November 8, 1994 The demand for currency and the underground economy Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 1994 Thérèse Laflèche The underground economy in Canada has attracted increased attention over the past few years, yet there is no precise way to measure its size. Recent estimates vary between 4 per cent and 15 per cent of gross domestic product. This article provides an overview of measurement issues and recent estimates. It then focusses on the "monetary" approach to estimating the size of the underground economy. This approach is based on the assumption that the demand for bank notes provides a clue as to the size of the underground economy. The article concludes that estimates that use this approach must be viewed with considerable caution. They are based on a number of assumptions that are difficult to verify and that significantly affect the results. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Monetary aggregates
November 7, 1994 The use of Canadian bank notes Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 1994 Louise Hyland This article delves into the microeconomics of note circulation, reviewing main factors affecting the demand for bank notes over the last 50 years, including new technology such as automated banking machines. It also discusses trends in the average value of notes in circulation and in the demand for notes of different denominations. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Bank notes
The Causes of Unemployment in Canada: A Review of the Evidence Staff Working Paper 1994-11 Stephen S. Poloz This paper reviews various competing theories of structural unemployment and considers whether they may be used to explain any of the rise in unemployment experienced by Canada during the most recent economic cycle. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Labour markets
Les provinces canadiennes et la convergence : une évaluation empirique Staff Working Paper 1994-10 Mario Lefebvre This paper examines whether the hypothesis of economic convergence holds for the Canadian provinces. Using data on real gross domestic product per capita and on factor productivity from 1966 to 1992, the paper shows, using two different methods, that the convergence hypothesis cannot be rejected. This evidence supports the findings of other authors who have studied convergence among Canadian provinces. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Recent economic and financial developments
Symétrie des chocs touchant les régions canadiennes et choix d'un régime de change Staff Working Paper 1994-9 Alain DeSerres, René Lalonde The authors attempt to determine whether the primary advantage of the flexible exchange rate between Canada and the United States—the rapid adjustment of the real exchange rate following an asymmetrical shock—is as evident at the regional as at the national level. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Exchange rates