Kevin Clinton - Latest

• December 9, 1994

  The term structure of interest rates as a leading indicator of economic activity: A technical note

  Bank of Canada Review - Winter 1994-1995 Kevin Clinton

  The spread between long-term and short-term interest rates has proven to be an excellent predictor of changes of economic activity in Canada. As a general rule, when long-term interest rates have been much above short-term rates, strong increases in output have followed within about a year; however, whenever the yield curve has been inverted for any extended period of time, a recession has followed. Similar findings exist for other countries, including the United States. But although Canadian and U.S. interest rates generally move quite closely together, the Canadian yield curve has been distinctly better at predicting future Canadian output. The explanation given for this result is that the term spread has reflected both current monetary conditions, which affect short-term interest rates, and expected real returns on investment and expectations of inflation, which are the main determinants of long-term rates. This article is mainly a summary of econometric work done at the Bank. It also touches on some of the extensive recent literature in this area.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Interest rates, Monetary and financial indicators

• From Monetary Policy Instruments to Administered Interest Rates: The Transmission Mechanism in Canada

  Technical Report No. 69 Kevin Clinton, Donna Howard

  The authors investigate interest-rate aspects of the transmission mechanism of monetary policy instruments in Canada, focussing on the stability of the relationships between some key interest rates and the instruments of monetary policy. To determine what shifts may have occurred in recent years, they describe movements in rate differentials, apply cointegration tests and estimate error-correction […]

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52