Staff working papers

• Entry and Exit in Treasury Auctions

  Staff Working Paper 2024-29 Jason Allen, Ali Hortaçsu, Eric Richert, Milena Wittwer

  This paper introduces and estimates a structural model of the Canadian primary market for government debt. We assess the role of dealer exit in this market as a key reason for increased, yet irregular, customer entry and quantify the benefits of greater customer competition against the costs of higher market volatility.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Debt management, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): D, D4, D44, D47, G, G1, G12, G2, G28

• Housing Affordability and Parental Income Support

  Staff Working Paper 2024-28 Jason Allen, Kyra Carmichael, Robert Clark, Shaoteng Li, Nicolas Vincent

  In many countries, the cost of housing has greatly outpaced income growth, leading to a housing affordability crisis. Leveraging Canadian loan-level data and quasi-experimental variation in payment-to-income constraints, we document an increasing reliance of first-time homebuyers on financial help from their parents, through mortgage co-signing. We show that parental support can effectively relax borrowing constraints—potentially to riskier borrowers.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial services, Financial system regulation and policies, Housing JEL Code(s): D, D6, D64, E, E2, E21, E24, G, G1, G18, G5, G51

• Central Bank Digital Currency and Transmission of Monetary Policy

  Staff Working Paper 2024-27 Saroj Bhattarai, Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Zhenning Zhao

  How does the transmission of monetary policy change when a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is introduced in the economy? Does CBDC design matter? We study these questions in a general equilibrium model with nominal rigidities, liquidity frictions, and a banking sector where commercial banks face a leverage constraint.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Interest rates, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E4, E5, E50, E58, G, G2, G21, G5, G51

• Credit Card Minimum Payment Restrictions

  Staff Working Paper 2024-26 Jason Allen, Michael Boutros, Benedict Guttman-Kenney

  We study a government policy that restricts repayment choices with the aim of reducing credit card debt and estimate its effects by applying a difference-in-differences methodology to comprehensive credit-reporting data about Canadian consumers. We find the policy has trade-offs: reducing revolving debt comes at a cost of reducing credit access, and potentially increasing delinquency.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): D, D1, D18, E, E2, E21, G, G2, G28, G5, G51

• Untapped Potential: Mobile Device Ownership and Mobile Payments in Canada

  Staff Working Paper 2024-25 Marie-Hélène Felt, Angelika Welte, Katrina Talavera

  We present a two-stage model of mobile phone and mobile payment usage that controls for selectivity. This reveals unobserved factors that work against having a mobile phone and toward mobile paying. Therefore, people who are unable to acquire or choose not to own a mobile device might have unmet payment needs.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C3, C39, D, D1, D12, E, E4, E42