Monetary policy framework and transmission

• Central Bank Digital Currency and Monetary Policy

  Staff working paper 2018-36 Mohammad Davoodalhosseini

  Many central banks are contemplating whether to issue central bank digital currency. This piece explores the implications as well as potential motivators of such a step.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E50 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech

• Following the Money: Evidence for the Portfolio Balance Channel of Quantitative Easing

  Staff working paper 2018-33 Itay Goldstein, Jonathan Witmer, Jing Yang

  Recent research suggests that quantitative easing (QE) may affect a broad range of asset prices through a portfolio balance channel. Using novel security-level holding data of individual US mutual funds, we establish evidence that portfolio rebalancing occurred both within and across funds.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, G, G2, G23 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• Assessing the Impact of Demand Shocks on the US Term Premium

  Staff discussion paper 2018-7 Russell Barnett, Konrad Zmitrowicz

  During and after the Great Recession of 2008–09, conventional monetary policy in the United States and many other advanced economies was constrained by the effective lower bound (ELB) on nominal interest rates. Several central banks implemented large-scale asset purchase (LSAP) programs, more commonly known as quantitative easing or QE, to provide additional monetary stimulus.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, E5, E52, E58, E6, E61, E65, G, G1, G12 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• The Neutral Rate in Canada: 2018 Estimates

  Staff analytical note 2018-22 Xin Scott Chen, José Dorich

  The neutral nominal policy rate serves as a benchmark for assessing the degree of monetary stimulus and provides a medium- to long-run anchor for the policy rate. Since quantitative measures of the neutral rate are subject to considerable uncertainty, Bank staff rely on four different approaches to estimate the Canadian neutral rate.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E40, E43, E5, E50, E52, E58, F, F4, F41 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission

• Readability and the Bank of Canada

  Staff analytical note 2018-20 Alexandre Deslongchamps

  In this note, I assess the readability of Bank of Canada publications using a formula commonly used for this type of evaluation. I find that Bank publications are more difficult to read than the media articles and other content our target audiences likely consume. This suggests that more simple writing can help the Bank better meet its communication objectives.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission

• Ambiguity, Nominal Bond Yields and Real Bond Yields

  Staff working paper 2018-24 Guihai Zhao

  Equilibrium bond-pricing models rely on inflation being bad news for future growth to generate upward-sloping nominal yield curves. We develop a model that can generate upward-sloping nominal and real yield curves by instead using ambiguity about inflation and growth.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, G, G0, G00, G1, G12 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission

• Noisy Monetary Policy

  Staff working paper 2018-23 Tatjana Dahlhaus, Luca Gambetti

  We introduce limited information in monetary policy. Agents receive signals from the central bank revealing new information (“news") about the future evolution of the policy rate before changes in the rate actually take place. However, the signal is disturbed by noise.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C18, C3, C32, E, E0, E02, E4, E43, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• How to Manage Macroeconomic and Financial Stability Risks: A New Framework

  Staff analytical note 2018-11 Alexander Ueberfeldt, Thibaut Duprey

  Financial system vulnerabilities increase the downside risk to future GDP growth. Macroprudential tightening significantly reduces financial stability risks associated with vulnerabilities. Monetary policy faces a trade-off between financial stability and macroeconomic risks.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, E5, E52, E58, G, G0, G01 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Financial system regulation and oversight, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission

• A Policy Framework for E-Money: A Report on Bank of Canada Research

  Staff discussion paper 2018-5 Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Francisco Rivadeneyra

  We present a policy framework for electronic money and payments. The framework poses a set of positive questions related to the areas of responsibility of central banks: payments systems, monetary policy and financial stability. The questions are posed to four broad forms of e-money: privately or publicly issued, and with centralized or decentralized verification of transactions. This framework is intended to help evaluate the trade-offs that central banks face in the decision to issue new forms of e-money.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E5, E51, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures

• Could a Higher Inflation Target Enhance Macroeconomic Stability?

  Staff working paper 2018-17 José Dorich, Nicholas Labelle, Vadym Lepetyuk, Rhys R. Mendes

  Recent international experience with the effective lower bound on nominal interest rates has rekindled interest in the benefits of inflation targets above 2 per cent. We evaluate whether an increase in the inflation target to 3 or 4 per cent could improve macroeconomic stability in the Canadian economy.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, E37, E4, E43, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission