Technical Reports

• The Financial Services Sector: An Update on Recent Developments

  Technical Report No. 91 Charles Freedman, Clyde Goodlet

  The Canadian financial industry continues to experience significant changes. This report provides an update on recent developments and re-examines a number of issues facing financial service providers that were identified in Technical Report No. 82.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial services JEL Code(s): G, G2

• Dollarization in Canada: The Buck Stops There

  Technical Report No. 90 John Murray, James Powell

  The sharp depreciation of the Canadian dollar and the successful launch of the euro have spawned an animated debate in Canada concerning the potential benefits of formally adopting the U.S. dollar as our national currency.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Exchange rate regimes JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, F, F3, F33, F36

• Core Inflation

  Technical Report No. 89 Seamus Hogan, Marianne Johnson, Thérèse Laflèche

  The Bank of Canada uses core CPI inflation, the year-over-year rate of change of the consumer price index excluding food, energy, and the effects of changes in indirect taxes, as the operational guide for monetary policy.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Inflation and prices JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31

• International Financial Crises and Flexible Exchange Rates: Some Policy Lessons from Canada

  Technical Report No. 88 John Murray, Mark Zelmer, Zahir Antia

  This paper examines the behaviour of the Canadian dollar from 1997 to 1999 to see if there is any evidence of excess volatility or significant overshooting. A small econometric model of the exchange rate, based on market fundamentals, is presented and used to make tentative judgments about the extent to which the currency might have been systematically over- or undervalued.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Exchange rate regimes, Exchange rates JEL Code(s): F, F3, F31

• The Regulation of Central Securities Depositories and the Linkages between CSDs and Large-Value Payment Systems

  Technical Report No. 87 Charles Freedman

  This paper first describes the Bank of Canada's approach to the design of large-value clearing and settlement systems. It then examines the way the Bank has operated under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act, passed by Parliament in July 1996.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G2, G20

• Greater Transparency in Monetary Policy: Impact on Financial Markets

  Technical Report No. 86 Philippe Muller, Mark Zelmer

  Measures have been taken by the Bank of Canada to increase the transparency of Canadian monetary policy. This paper examines whether the greater transparency has improved financial markets' understanding of the conduct of monetary policy.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Financial markets, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, G, G1, G14

• Inflation Targeting under Uncertainty

  Technical Report No. 85 Gabriel Srour

  This paper studies the implications of certain kinds of uncertainty for monetary policy. It first describes the optimum policy rule in a simple model of the transmission mechanism as in Ball and Svensson.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Monetary policy and uncertainty, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52

• Yield Curve Modelling at the Bank of Canada

  Technical Report No. 84 David Bolder, David Stréliski

  The primary objective of this paper is to produce a framework that could be used to construct a historical data base of zero-coupon and forward yield curves estimated from Government of Canada securities' prices.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Economic models

• The Benefits of Low Inflation: Taking Stock

  Technical Report No. 83 Brian O'Reilly

  This paper surveys the empirical literature on the benefits of low inflation, emphasizing contributions since 1990. It follows the framework of a section in the Bank's 1990 Annual Report, "The benefits of price stability."

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Inflation: costs and benefits JEL Code(s): E, E3

• The Financial Services Sector: Past Changes and Future Prospects

  Technical Report No. 82 Charles Freedman, Clyde Goodlet

  The financial services industry has been undergoing significant change in recent years. This paper analyzes some key developments affecting the industry and examines some important issues facing the industry and its regulators.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Financial services JEL Code(s): G, G2