G - Financial Economics
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Persistent Leverage in Portfolio Sorts: An Artifact of Measurement Error?
Studies such as Lemmon, Roberts and Zender (2008) demonstrate how stable firms’ capital structures are over time, and raise the question of whether new theories of capital structure are needed to explain these phenomena. -
December 10, 2014
Exchange-Traded Funds: Evolution of Benefits, Vulnerabilities and Risks
Ian Foucher and Kyle Gray explain the different types of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which present both benefits and risks for investors. They discuss ways in which the risk characteristics of certain ETF products could have broader implications for the financial system, and describe the evolution of ETF market structure and regulation in different jurisdictions as authorities try to mitigate risks related to ETFs. -
December 10, 2014
Cyber Security: Protecting the Resilience of Canada’s Financial System
Harold Gallagher, Wade McMahon and Ron Morrow examine the various sources of cyber attacks and their potential for systemic risk. Against this background, the report highlights efforts being made to protect against cyber-security threats, including individual and collective actions by financial institutions and financial market infrastructures, as well as initiatives by international organizations, regulatory authorities and governments. The authors then describe the coordination, under the Joint Operational Resilience Management program, of private and public sector actions in Canada for managing and testing capabilities during severe operational events such as cyber attacks. -
Bootstrap Tests of Mean-Variance Efficiency with Multiple Portfolio Groupings
We propose double bootstrap methods to test the mean-variance efficiency hypothesis when multiple portfolio groupings of the test assets are considered jointly rather than individually. -
The Effect of the Federal Reserve’s Tapering Announcements on Emerging Markets
The Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing (QE) program has been accompanied by a flow of funds into emerging-market economies (EMEs) in search of higher returns. -
November 13, 2014
The Use of Financial Derivatives by Canadian Firms
In Canada, about one-third of publicly listed non-financial firms use financial derivatives. The use of derivatives is widespread across all sectors of the economy and increases during periods of greater uncertainty. Non-financial firms that use derivatives are typically larger and more profitable and have lower volatility of earnings than those that do not use derivatives. Overall, the firm characteristics of Canadian hedgers seem to be consistent with those found in other jurisdictions. -
Credit Market Frictions and Sudden Stops
Financial crises in emerging economies in the 1980s and 1990s often entailed abrupt declines in foreign capital inflows, improvements in trade balance, and large declines in output and total factor productivity (TFP). -
November 4, 2014
Housing Finance in Canada: Looking Back to Move Forward
The Canadian system of housing finance proved to be resilient and efficient during the global financial crisis and its aftermath. The system’s effectiveness is the result of a rigorous prudential regulatory and supervisory regime coupled with targeted government guarantees of mortgage insurance and securitization products. -
What Does the Convenience Yield Curve Tell Us about the Crude Oil Market?
Using the prices of crude oil futures contracts, we construct the term structure of crude oil convenience yields out to one-year maturity. The crude oil convenience yield can be interpreted as the interest rate, denominated in barrels of oil, for borrowing a single barrel of oil, and it measures the value of storing crude oil over the borrowing period.