O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth

• Bitcoin Awareness, Ownership and Use: 2016–20

  Staff discussion paper 2022-10 Daniela Balutel, Marie-Hélène Felt, Gradon Nicholls, Marcel Voia

  In this paper, we examine trends in Canadian ownership of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from 2016 to 2020 using data from surveys conducted by the Bank of Canada.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, E, E4, O, O5, O51 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech

• Cash and COVID-19: What happened in 2021

  Staff discussion paper 2022-8 Heng Chen, Walter Engert, Kim Huynh, Daneal O’Habib, Joy Wu, Julia Zhu

  Using data from the Bank Note Distribution System and consumer surveys, we find that bank notes in circulation remained high through 2021. Canadians continued to rely on electronic methods of payment, but a significant share also continued using cash for payments.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C9, E, E4, O, O5, O54 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments

• Assessing global potential output growth and the US neutral rate: April 2022

  Staff analytical note 2022-4 Kyle Boutilier, Thomas J. Carter, Xin Scott Chen, Eshini Ekanayake, Louis Poirier, Peter Shannon, Akash Uppal, Lin Xiang

  We expect global potential output growth to increase from 2.7% in 2021 to 2.9% by 2024. Compared with the April 2021 assessment, global potential output growth is marginally slower. The current range for the US neutral rate is 2% to 3%, 0.25 percentage points higher than staff’s last assessment.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E1, E2, E4, E5, F, F0, O, O4 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting

• What COVID-19 May Leave Behind: Technology-Related Job Postings in Canada

  Staff working paper 2022-17 Alejandra Bellatin, Gabriela Galassi

  COVID-19 affects technology adoption: online job postings for technology-related occupations fall less during pandemic lockdowns and pick up faster during reopenings than postings for more traditional occupations.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): J, J2, J23, J24, O, O1, O14 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity

• Contribution of Human Capital Accumulation to Canadian Economic Growth

  Staff discussion paper 2022-7 Audra Bowlus, Youngmin Park, Chris Robinson

  This paper quantifies the contribution of human capital accumulation to the growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): D, D2, D24, E, E2, E24, J, J2, J24, J3, J31, O, O4, O47 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity

• Transition Scenarios for Analyzing Climate-Related Financial Risk

  Staff discussion paper 2022-1 Y.-H. Henry Chen, Erik Ens, Olivier Gervais, Hossein Hosseini Jebeli, Craig Johnston, Serdar Kabaca, Miguel Molico, Sergey Paltsev, Alex Proulx, Argyn Toktamyssov

  Climate transition scenarios clarify climate-related risks to our economy and financial system. This paper summarizes key results of Canada-relevant scenarios developed in a pilot project on climate risk by the Bank of Canada and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C6, C68, D, D5, D58, E, E5, E50, O, O4, O44, P, P1, P18, Q, Q5, Q54 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Models and tools, Economic models, Structural challenges, Climate change

• Bitcoin Adoption and Beliefs in Canada

  Staff working paper 2021-60 Daniela Balutel, Christopher Henry, Jorge Vásquez, Marcel Voia

  Using an economic model as well as survey data from the Bank of Canada, we study what factors influence the adoption of Bitcoin in Canada.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, O, O3, O33 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech

• Canadian job postings in digital sectors during COVID-19

  Staff analytical note 2021-18 Alejandra Bellatin, Gabriela Galassi

  Digital technologies have helped maintain economic activity while allowing people to remain physically distant throughout the COVID-19 crisis. This note shows that the number of online postings for jobs related to the production of digital technologies in Canada decreased less than the number for other jobs and recovered more quickly after lockdowns were lifted.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J23, J6, J63, J64, O, O3, O33 Research Theme(s): Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity

• Cash and COVID-19: The impact of the second wave in Canada

  Staff discussion paper 2021-12 Heng Chen, Walter Engert, Marie-Hélène Felt, Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls, Daneal O’Habib, Julia Zhu

  The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the demand for cash. Cash in circulation increased sharply from March through December 2020, particularly in the early months of this period. Although use of electronic methods of payment also increased significantly, cash use for payments remains high for low-value transactions and among certain demographic groups.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C9, E, E4, O, O5, O54 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments

• Overlooking the online world: Does mismeasurement of the digital economy explain the productivity slowdown?

  Staff analytical note 2021-10 Alejandra Bellatin, Stéphanie Houle

  Since the mid-2000s, labour productivity has slowed down in Canada despite enormous technological advances that were expected to improve it. This note investigates whether mismeasurement of the digital economy can explain this paradox.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E0, E01, L, L8, L86, O, O3, O33, O4, O5, O51 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity