Posts

• March 11, 2021

  Household consumption in a pandemic

  Speech summary Lawrence L. Schembri Restaurants Canada Toronto, Ontario

  Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri talks about how COVID-19 has affected household saving and spending patterns and discusses the Bank’s decision yesterday to leave the policy rate unchanged.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Research Topic(s): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Domestic demand and components, Monetary policy, Recent economic and financial developments, Service sector
• March 10, 2021

  Bank of Canada will hold current level of policy rate until inflation objective is sustainably achieved, continues quantitative easing

  Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario

  The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent, with the Bank Rate at ½ percent and the deposit rate at ¼ percent. The Bank is maintaining its extraordinary forward guidance, reinforced and supplemented by its quantitative easing (QE) program, which continues at its current pace of at least $4 billion per week.

  Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
• March 8, 2021

  Operational details for upcoming secondary market purchases of Government of Canada securities (March 15-26)

  As previously announced, the Bank of Canada (the Bank) launched on April 1, 2020 a program to purchase Government of Canada securities in the secondary market – the Government Bond Purchase Program (GBPP).

  Content Type(s): Press, Market notices Source(s): Government of Canada Bond Purchase Program

• Cash and COVID-19: The Effects of Lifting Containment Measures on Cash Demand and Use

  Staff Discussion Paper 2021-3 Heng Chen, Walter Engert, Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls, Julia Zhu

  Using Bank Note Distribution System data on the demand for cash up to September 2020, we find that demand was strong. This is true even though cash use for payments declined early in the pandemic. When mobility restrictions and lockdown measures were eased, cash use for payments increased sharply but remained less popular than electronic methods of payment.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Central bank research, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C9, E, E4, O, O5, O54
• February 28, 2021

  Research Update - February 2021

  This monthly newsletter features the latest research publications by Bank of Canada economists including external publications and working papers published on the Bank of Canada’s website.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Research newsletters
• February 26, 2021

  COVID‑19 stringency index

  The COVID-19 stringency index was discontinued with its last observation on July 15, 2022.
• February 26, 2021

  Law Enforcement Award of Excellence for Counterfeit Deterrence

  The call for nominations is open until April 30, 2021.

  Content Type(s): Press, Announcements

• The Bank of Canada COVID‑19 stringency index: measuring policy response across provinces

  Staff Analytical Note 2021-1 Calista Cheung, Jerome Lyons, Bethany Madsen, Sarah Miller, Saarah Sheikh

  We construct an index that systematically measures and tracks the stringency of government policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic across Canadian provinces. Researchers can use this stringency index to analyze how the pandemic is affecting the economy.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Domestic demand and components, Recent economic and financial developments, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): E, E2, E20, H, H7, I, I1, I18, R, R1
• February 25, 2021

  New strategy embeds diversity and inclusion into Bank of Canada’s work

  The Bank of Canada has long recognized that the inclusion of diverse identities and ideas fosters innovative thinking that results in better policy outcomes for Canadians. It’s also the right thing to do. With today’s publication of its Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, the Bank is reinforcing its commitments to reduce any barriers to employment and support employees, while embedding diversity and inclusion into every aspect of its work.

  Content Type(s): Press, Announcements

• COVID-19 Crisis: Lessons Learned for Future Policy Research

  Staff Discussion Paper 2021-2 Jean-Sébastien Fontaine, Corey Garriott, Jesse Johal, Jessica Lee, Andreas Uthemann

  One year later, we review the events that took place in Canadian fixed-income markets at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis and propose potential policy research questions for future work.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Financial markets, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): D, D4, D47, E, E4, E41, E5, G, G0, G01, G1, G14, G2, G20, G21, G23