D - Microeconomics

• Measuring household financial stress in Canada using consumer surveys

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-5 Nicolas Bédard, Patrick Sabourin

  We use data from the Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations to understand how households are coping with high inflation and high interest rates. We build a subjective measure of financial stress and find that the level of stress is at a historical high but remains manageable for most households.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Domestic demand and components, Financial stability, Monetary policy transmission, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D1, D14, G, G5, H, H3

• COVID-19 Hasn’t Killed Merchant Acceptance of Cash: Results from the 2023 Merchant Acceptance Survey

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-2 Angelika Welte, Katrina Talavera, Liang Wang, Joy Wu

  The Bank of Canada’s Merchant Acceptance Survey finds that 96% of small and medium-sized businesses in Canada accepted cash in 2023. Acceptance of debit and credit cards has increased to 89%, and acceptance of digital payments has also increased. However, Canada is far from being a cashless society.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C8, D, D2, D22, E, E4, L, L2

• Regulation, Emissions and Productivity: Evidence from China’s Eleventh Five-Year Plan

  Staff Working Paper 2024-7 Brantly Callaway, Tong Li, Joel Rodrigue, Yuya Sasaki, Yong Tan

  We study the degree to which China’s 11th Five-Year Plan softens trade-offs between emissions and output. Our model suggests efficient regulation could have further increased aggregate productivity by 3.5% and output by 4.7% without any increase in aggregate emissions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Climate change, Productivity JEL Code(s): C, C2, C21, D, D2, D24, Q, Q5, Q53

• What has been putting upward pressure on CORRA?

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-4 Boran Plong, Neil Maru

  From the autumn of 2023 into early 2024, the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA), a measure of the cost of overnight general collateral Canadian dollar repos, was consistently well above the Bank’s target for the overnight rate. We find that, among several factors, long bond positions that require repo financing are the main driver of the recent upward pressure on CORRA.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Financial markets, Interest rates, Lender of last resort, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): D, D4, D5, D53, E, E4, E43, E44, E5, E52, G, G1, G12

• How Do Agents Form Macroeconomic Expectations? Evidence from Inflation Uncertainty

  Staff Working Paper 2024-5 Tao Wang

  The uncertainty regarding inflation that is observed in density forecasts of households and professionals helps macroeconomists understand the formation mechanism of inflation expectations. Shocks to inflation take time to be perceived by all agents in the economy, and such rigidity is lower in a high-inflation environment.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Inflation and prices, Monetary policy and uncertainty JEL Code(s): D, D8, D84, E, E3, E31, E7, E71

• The Role of Long-Term Contracting in Business Lending

  Staff Working Paper 2024-2 Phoebe Tian

  This paper examines inefficiencies arising from a lack of long-term contracting in small business lending in China.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, D86, G, G2, G21, L, L1, L14, L2, L26

• 2022 Methods-of-Payment Survey Report: Cash Use Over 13 Years

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-1 Christopher Henry, Doina Rusu, Matthew Shimoda

  We present results from the 2022 Methods-of-Payment Survey, including updated payment shares based on a three-day shopping diary. We also assess various factors associated with long-term trends in cash use.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Digital currencies and fintech, Financial services JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E41

• Communicating Inflation Uncertainty and Household Expectations

  Staff Working Paper 2023-63 Olena Kostyshyna, Luba Petersen

  We examine the value of direct communication to households about inflation and the uncertainty around inflation statistics. All types of information about inflation are effective at immediately managing inflation expectations, with information about outlooks being more effective and relevant than that about recent inflation and Bank targets.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Credibility, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Monetary policy communications JEL Code(s): C, C9, C93, D, D8, D84, E, E5, E59, E7

• Perceived versus Calibrated Income Risks in Heterogeneous-Agent Consumption Models

  Staff Working Paper 2023-59 Tao Wang

  Perceived income risks reported in a survey of consumer expectations are more heterogeneous and, on average, lower than indirectly calibrated risks based on panel data. They prove to be one explanation for why a large fraction of households hold very little liquid savings and why accumulated wealth is widely unequal across households.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Monetary policy, Monetary policy and uncertainty JEL Code(s): D, D1, D14, E, E2, E21, E7, E71, G, G5, G51

• The impact of higher interest rates on mortgage payments

  Staff Analytical Note 2023-19 Maria teNyenhuis, Adam Su

  We investigate how the increase in interest rates since early 2022 is affecting mortgage payments. By November 2023, less than half of mortgage holders had faced higher payments. Many borrowers will see a sizable increase in payments at renewal, although income growth could help mitigate the impact.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Financial institutions, Interest rates, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D1, E, E4, E5, G, G2, G21