Farid Novin was appointed Senior Representative (Economics) at the Bank's Regional Office for British Colombia and Yukon in 1999. In this capacity, he directs research and analysis on economic and financial developments in the region. He also plays a major role in the Office's activities in communicating the Bank's messages to a variety of external audiences and promoting an exchange of views on the economy and monetary policy.
Mr. Novin was born in Isfahan, Iran and moved to Canada in 1979. He received a B.A. in Economics from the National University of Iran in 1971; a Post Graduate Diploma in Socio-Economic Planning from The Hague, Netherlands in 1976; and a Post Graduate Diploma in Economic Development from Manchester University in 1977. Mr. Novin also holds a master's degree in Economics from Manchester University (1978) and a PhD in Economics from Queen's University (1983).
Mr. Novin joined the Bank of Canada in 1984 as an Energy Specialist in the Research Department. From 1986 to 1990, he worked as an Industrial and Sectoral Analyst and then as a Senior Analyst in the Special Studies/Projection Group. In 1992, he pursued his career as a Senior Analyst, Credit Markets in the Department of Monetary and Financial Analysis. In 1996, he was appointed Senior Analyst at the British Columbia and Yukon Regional Office and held this position until he was appointed Senior Representative in 1999.
Mr. Novin also pursued an academic career, teaching at Queen's University, Concordia University, the University of Ottawa, and Sauder School of Business at University of British Columbia, where he teaches an MBA course on banking and capital markets . He received the Avesina Scholarship Award in 1975-78, the R. Samuel McLaughlin Fellowship (Queen's University) in 1979-82, and the Queen's University Graduate Award in 1982 and 1983. Mr. Novin is a member of the Association of Professional Economists of British Columbia and the National Association of Business Economics.
January 1999 to Present:
Senior Representative (Economics)
BC and Yukon Regional Office
August 1996 to December 1998:
Senior Analyst
BC and Yukon Regional Office
November 1992 to July 1996:
Senior Analyst, Credit Markets
Department of Monetary and Financial Analysis
April 1990 to November 1992:
Senior Analyst, Special Studies/Projection Group
June 1986 to April 1990:
Industrial and Sectoral Analyst
Research Department
June 1984 to June 1986:
Energy Specialist
Research Department
Winter 1989
Monetary Economics
Ottawa University
August 1983 to May 1984
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics
Concordia University
September 1982 to August 1983
Lecturer
Department of Economics
Queen's University
This article examines three shocks that affected Canada's economy over the past year from a regional perspective. The downturn in the U.S. economy, high energy prices, and low lumber prices affected Canada's regions to varying degrees. The relative size of the various economic sectors in each region is important in determining the intensity of a region's response to an economic shock.
The article presents some stylized facts on the sectoral mix of each region followed by an analysis of the effects of the three shocks on the regional economies. An outlook is presented, which highlights the results of the survey by the Bank's regional offices in the summer of 2001.
: Regional economic developmentsThe authors examine the recent evolution of commodity prices. They discuss the factors behind the price declines that occurred between the summer of 1997 and the end of 1998, including the key supply factors and the drop in Asian demand caused by that region's concurrent financial and economic crisis. They then review the effects of the reduction in world commodity prices on economic activity in Canada. They point out that the depreciation of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar, together with the continued strength of the U.S. economy, has partly offset the negative effects on Canadian aggregate demand.
: Financial markets
