Bio

Erik Ens is a Senior Policy Director in the Canadian Economic Analysis Department. As a member of the senior leadership team he helps oversee the Bank's analysis of the Canadian economy and its research on monetary policy. He also leads the Bank’s macroeconomic modelling and scenario analysis work on climate change. Prior to this, he was a Senior Policy Advisor in the International Department, where he oversaw that department’s contributions to the Monetary Policy Report.

Mr. Ens joined the Bank in 2012, serving first as a Principal Economist and later as a Director in the Financial Stability Department. In these roles he led a post-crisis review of the Bank’s emergency lending policies and the initial development of a recovery and resolution regime for financial market infrastructure. Prior to joining the Bank Mr. Ens worked at the Department of Finance Canada and the Privy Council Office, where he provided advice on a wide range of fiscal, financial system and macroeconomic issues.

Mr. Ens holds a Masters in Economics from the University of British Columbia.

Staff analytical notes

Assessing the effects of higher immigration on the Canadian economy and inflation

Staff Analytical Note 2023-17 Julien Champagne, Erik Ens, Xing Guo, Olena Kostyshyna, Alexander Lam, Corinne Luu, Sarah Miller, Patrick Sabourin, Joshua Slive, Temel Taskin, Jaime Trujillo, Shu Lin Wee
We assess the complex macroeconomic implications of Canada’s recent population increases. We find that newcomers significantly boost the non-inflationary, potential growth of the economy, but existing imbalances in the housing sector may be exacerbated. Greater housing supply is needed to complement the long-term economic benefits of population growth.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Domestic demand and components, Housing, Inflation and prices, Labour markets, Potential output, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): A, A1, A10, E, E2, E20, E3, E31, J, J1, J11, J15

Benchmarks for assessing labour market health: 2023 update

Staff Analytical Note 2023-7 Erik Ens, Kurt See, Corinne Luu
We enhance benchmarks for assessing strength in the Canadian labour market. We find the labour market remains tight despite recent strong increases in labour supply, including among prime-working-age women. We also assess the anticipated easing in labour conditions in a context of high population growth.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Econometric and statistical methods, Labour markets, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J21, J6

Benchmarks for assessing labour market health

Staff Analytical Note 2022-2 Erik Ens, Corinne Luu, Kurt See, Shu Lin Wee
We propose a range of benchmarks for assessing labour market strength for monetary policy. This work builds on a previous framework that considers how diverse and segmented the labour market is. We apply these benchmarks to the Canadian labour market and find that it has more than recovered from the COVID-19 shock.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Econometric and statistical methods, Labour markets, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J21, J6

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Staff discussion papers

Transition Scenarios for Analyzing Climate-Related Financial Risk

Staff Discussion Paper 2022-1 Y.-H. Henry Chen, Erik Ens, Olivier Gervais, Hossein Hosseini, Craig Johnston, Serdar Kabaca, Miguel Molico, Sergey Paltsev, Alex Proulx, Argyn Toktamyssov
Climate transition scenarios clarify climate-related risks to our economy and financial system. This paper summarizes key results of Canada-relevant scenarios developed in a pilot project on climate risk by the Bank of Canada and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Climate change, Economic models, Financial stability, International topics JEL Code(s): C, C6, C68, D, D5, D58, E, E5, E50, O, O4, O44, P, P1, P18, Q, Q5, Q54

Assessing Labour Market Slack for Monetary Policy

Staff Discussion Paper 2021-15 Erik Ens, Laurence Savoie-Chabot, Kurt See, Shu Lin Wee
Measuring labour market slack is essential for central banks: without full employment in the economy, inflation will not stay close to target. We propose a comprehensive approach to assessing labour market slack that reflects the complexity and diversity of the labour market.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Econometric and statistical methods, Labour markets, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J21, J6

Scenario Analysis and the Economic and Financial Risks from Climate Change

Staff Discussion Paper 2020-3 Erik Ens, Craig Johnston
This paper adapts climate-economy models that have been applied in other contexts for use in climate-related scenario analysis. We consider illustrative scenarios for the global economy that could generate economic and financial risks. Our results suggest there are significant economic risks from climate change and the move to a low-carbon economy.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Climate change, Economic models, Financial stability, International topics JEL Code(s): C, C6, C68, D, D5, D58, E, E5, E50, O, O4, O44, P, P1, P18, Q, Q4, Q5, Q54, Q55

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Bank publications

The Economy, Plain and Simple

Financial System Review articles