Bio

Janet Jiang is the Research Director of the Research Team in the Banking and Payments Department. Janet obtained her PhD in Economics from Simon Fraser University in 2007. She builds theoretical models and runs surveys and controlled laboratory experiments to study inflation, asset trading, bank runs, currency competition, payment competition and central bank digital currencies.
Her work has been published in Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Economic Theory, Review of Economic Dynamics, Canadian Journal of Economics, European Economic Review, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, and Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control.

Research Field(s): Banking Digital Currency Digital Economy Experimental Economics Financial Markets Household Finance Macroeconomic Theory Monetary Economics Retail Payments Two-Sided Markets

Staff analytical notes

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Staff discussion papers

Central Bank Digital Currencies and Banking: Literature Review and New Questions

Staff Discussion Paper 2023-4 James Chapman, Jonathan Chiu, Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Janet Hua Jiang, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Yu Zhu
We review the nascent but fast-growing literature on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), focusing on their potential impacts on private banks. We evaluate these impacts in three areas of traditional banking: payments, lending and liquidity and maturity transformation. We also take a broader look at CBDCs and highlight two promising directions for future research.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Financial stability JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E58, G, G0, G00, L, L0, L00

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Staff working papers

Inflation, Output, and Welfare in the Laboratory

Staff Working Paper 2023-11 Janet Hua Jiang, Daniela Puzzello, Cathy Zhang
We investigate the effect of inflation on output and welfare in the laboratory. Consistent with monetary theory, we find that inflation acts as a tax on monetary exchange and reduces output and welfare.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Inflation: costs and benefits, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): C, C9, C92, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E40

How Long is Forever in the Laboratory? Three Implementations of an Infinite-Horizon Monetary Economy

Staff Working Paper 2021-16 Janet Hua Jiang, Daniela Puzzello, Cathy Zhang
Standard monetary models adopt an infinite horizon with discounting. Testing these models in the lab requires implementing this horizon within a limited time frame. We compare three approaches to such an implementation and discuss their relative advantages.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Economic models, Inflation and prices JEL Code(s): C, C9, C92, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E40

Monetary Policy Pass-Through with Central Bank Digital Currency

Staff Working Paper 2021-10 Janet Hua Jiang, Yu Zhu
Many central banks are considering issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). This would introduce a new policy tool—interest on CBDC. We investigate how this new tool would interact with traditional monetary policy tools, such as the interest on central bank reserves.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E52

Safe Payments

Staff Working Paper 2020-53 Jonathan Chiu, Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Janet Hua Jiang, Yu Zhu
In a cashless economy, would the private sector invest in the optimal level of safety in a deposit-based payment system? In general, because of externalities, the answer is no. While the private sector could over- or under-invest in safety, the government can use taxes or subsidies to correct private incentives.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E50, G, G2, G21

Bank Market Power and Central Bank Digital Currency: Theory and Quantitative Assessment

Staff Working Paper 2019-20 Jonathan Chiu, Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Janet Hua Jiang, Yu Zhu
We show that issuing a deposit-like central bank digital currency (CBDC) with a proper interest rate would encourage banks to pay higher interest to keep their customers. Banks would then attract more deposits and offer more loans. Hence, a CBDC would not necessarily crowd out private banking.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Market structure and pricing, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E58

Competing Currencies in the Laboratory

Staff Working Paper 2017-53 Janet Hua Jiang, Cathy Zhang
We investigate competition between two intrinsically worthless currencies as a result of decentralized interactions between human subjects. We design a laboratory experiment based on a simple two-country, two-currency search model to study factors that affect circulation patterns and equilibrium selection.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech JEL Code(s): C, C9, C92, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E40

Adoption of a New Payment Method: Theory and Experimental Evidence

Staff Working Paper 2017-28 Jasmina Arifovic, John Duffy, Janet Hua Jiang
We model the introduction of a new payment method, e.g., e-money, that competes with an existing payment method, e.g., cash. The new payment method involves relatively lower per-transaction costs for both buyers and sellers, but sellers must pay a fixed fee to accept the new payment method.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech JEL Code(s): C, C3, C35, C8, C83, C9, C92, E, E4, E41

Understanding the Cash Demand Puzzle

Staff Working Paper 2014-22 Janet Hua Jiang, Enchuan Shao
We develop a model to explain a puzzling trend in cash demand in recent years: the value of bank notes in circulation as a percentage of GDP has remained stable despite decreasing cash usage at points of sale owing to competition from alternative means of payment such as credit cards.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Credit and credit aggregates, Digital currencies and fintech JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E5, E51

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Journal publications

Journal articles

  • "Adoption of a New Payment Method: Evidence from the Laboratory",
    (with Jasmina Arifovic and John Duffy), 2023, European Economic Review 104410.
  • "Inflation, Output and Welfare in the Laboratory",
    (with Daniela Puzzello and Cathy Zhang), 2023, European Economic Review, 152.
  • "Bank Market Power and Central Bank Digital Currency: Theory and Quantitative Assessment",
    (with Jonathan Chiu, Mohammad Davoodalhosseini and Yu Zhu), 2023, Journal of Political Economy, 131.
  • "How Long is Forever in the Laboratory? Three Implementations of an Infinite-Horizon Monetary Economy",
    (with Daniela Puzzello and Cathy Zhang), 2021, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 184, 278-301.
  • "The Cash Paradox",
    (with Enchuan Shao), 2020, Review of Economic Dynamics, 36, 177-197.
  • "Strategic Uncertainty and the Power of Extrinsic Signals – Evidence from an Experimental Study of Bank Runs",
    (with Jasmina Arifovic), 2019, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization , 167, 1-17.
  • "Competing Currencies in the Laboratory",
    (with Cathy Zhang), 2018, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 154(C), 253-280.
  • "Interest on Cash, Fundamental Value Process and Bubble Formation: An Experimental Study",
    (with Giovanni Giusti and Yiping Xu), 2016, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 11(C), 44-51.
  • "Money and Price Posting under Private Information",
    (with Mei Dong), 2014, Journal of Economic Theory, 150, 740-777.
  • "Experimental Evidence of Bank Runs as Pure Coordination Failures",
    (with Jasmina Arifovic and Yiping Xu), 2013, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 37, 2446-2465.
  • "One or Two Monies?",
    (with Mei Dong), 2010, Journal of Monetary Economics, 57, 439-450.
  • "Banking Crises in Monetary Economies", 2008, Canadian Journal of Economics, 41, 80-104.

Other

  • "Is Money Essential? An Experimental Approach",
    (with Peter Norman, Daniela Puzzello, Bruno Sultanum and Randall Wright), R&R at Journal of Political Economy.
  • "Pricing Indefinitely Lived Assets: Experimental Evidence",
    (with John Duffy and Huan Xie), R&R at Management Science.