Allan Crawford - Latest

• December 14, 1998

  Downward wage rigidity

  Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1998-1999 Allan Crawford, Seamus Hogan

  There has recently been considerable discussion about the ability of inflation to facilitate the adjustment of prices and wages and thus enhance economic performance. The discussion centres on whether wages are downwardly rigid. Wages are said to be downwardly rigid if it is difficult for the wages of some workers to fall despite underlying supply and demand pressures for decreases. Some authors have suggested that if downward nominal wage rigidity is prevalent it would be desirable to select a positive rate of inflation as the target for monetary policy. In this article, the authors evaluate the wage-rigidity hypothesis. They first examine the empirical evidence to assess whether the degree of downward rigidity is significant in Canada. They then analyze some key assumptions of the wage-rigidity hypothesis and its implications for employment. They also look at the empirical evidence on whether the combination of downward wage rigidity and low inflation has reduced employment.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Inflation: costs and benefits
• May 12, 1998

  Measurement biases in the Canadian CPI: An update

  Bank of Canada Review - Spring 1998 Allan Crawford

  The consumer price index (CPI) is used to measure changes in the price level of consumer goods and services. As an indicator of changes in the cost of living, it is susceptible to various types of measurement biases. This article provides estimates of the size of these biases in the Canadian CPI. It concludes that the rate of increase in the CPI probably overstates the rate of increase in the cost of living by about 0.5 percentage points per year.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Inflation and prices