Staff research, Publications

• Assessing the US and Canadian neutral rates: 2025 update

  Staff Analytical Note 2025-16 Frida Adjalala, Felipe Alves, William Beaudoin, Hélène Desgagnés, Wei Dong, Ingomar Krohn, Jan David Schneider

  We assess both the US and Canadian nominal neutral rates to be in the range of 2.25% to 3.25%, unchanged from the range assessed in 2024.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Economic models, Interest rates, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E4, E40, E43, E5, E50, E52, E58, F, F4, F41

• Assessing global potential output growth: April 2025

  Staff Analytical Note 2025-15 Samuel Boulanger, Raheeb Dastagir, Daniel de Munnik, Eshini Ekanayake, Kun Mo, Walter Muiruri, Faiza Noor, Sabreena Obaid, Louis Poirier

  This note presents the annual update of Bank of Canada staff estimates for growth in global potential output. These estimates served as key inputs to the analysis supporting the April 2025 Monetary Policy Report.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E1, E2, F, F0, F1, O, O3, O33, O4

• Potential output in Canada: 2025 assessment

  Staff Analytical Note 2025-14 Selam Abraham, Dany Brouillette, Alex Chernoff, Christopher Hajzler, Stéphanie Houle, Mark Kim, Temel Taskin

  We explore two scenarios for potential output growth to gain insights into the economic consequences associated with different possible trade policies. Scenario 1 includes limited US tariffs on Canadian exports. Scenario 2 adds a permanent, broad-based 25% increase in US tariffs on imports from all countries excluding Canada and Mexico.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Economic models, Labour markets, Monetary policy, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E2, E3, E4, E5

• The Optimum Quantity of Central Bank Reserves

  Staff Working Paper 2025-15 Jonathan Witmer

  This paper analyzes the optimal quantity of central bank reserves in an economy where reserves and other financial assets provide liquidity benefits. Using a static model, I derive a constrained Friedman rule that characterizes the socially optimal level of reserves, demonstrating that this quantity is neither necessarily large nor small but depends on the marginal benefits of reserves relative to alternative safe assets.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E58, G, G2, G21, G28

• Partial Identification of Heteroskedastic Structural Vector Autoregressions: Theory and Bayesian Inference

  Staff Working Paper 2025-14 Helmut Lütkepohl, Fei Shang, Luis Uzeda, Tomasz Woźniak

  We consider structural vector autoregressions that are identified through stochastic volatility. Our analysis focuses on whether a particular structural shock can be identified through heteroskedasticity without imposing any sign or exclusion restrictions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Fiscal policy JEL Code(s): C, C1, C11, C12, C3, C32, E, E6, E62

• The Shift in Canadian Immigration Composition and its Effect on Wages

  Staff Discussion Paper 2025-8 Julien Champagne, Antoine Poulin-Moore, Mallory Long

  We document recent changes in Canadian immigration, marked by an increasing prevalence of temporary residency. Using microdata from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey, we show that temporary workers' characteristics and nominal wages have diverged from those of Canadian-born workers.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Labour markets, Productivity JEL Code(s): J, J2, J20, J24, J6, J61

• A Fresh Look at the Publication and Citation Gap Between Men and Women: Insights from Economics and Political Science

  Staff Working Paper 2025-13 Daniel Stockemer, Gabriela Galassi, Engi Abou-El-Kheir

  In recent years, significant efforts have been made to attract more women into academia and to support their careers, with the goal of increasing their representation.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Labour markets JEL Code(s): A, A1, A14, I, I2, I23, J, J1, J16, J4, J44, J7, J71

• Are Hedge Funds a Hedge for Increasing Government Debt Issuance?

  Staff Discussion Paper 2025-7 Adam Epp, Jeffrey Gao

  This paper studies the rapid increase since 2019 of Government of Canada (GoC) debt issuance alongside greater hedge fund participation at GoC bond auctions. We find a systematic relationship between GoC debt stock and hedge fund bidding shares at auction.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Debt management, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability JEL Code(s): D, D4, D44, G, G1, G12, G2, G23, H, H6, H63
• May 8, 2025

  Financial Stability Report—2025

  

  Tiff Macklem, Carolyn Rogers, Toni Gravelle, Sharon Kozicki, Rhys R. Mendes, Nicolas Vincent, Michelle Alexopoulos

  Canada’s financial system is resilient. Overall, households, businesses, banks and non-bank financial intermediaries successfully weathered the pandemic, a period of elevated inflation, and sharp increases in interest rates. But the trade war currently threatens the Canadian economy and poses risks to financial stability.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Financial Stability Report
• May 8, 2025

  Financial System Survey highlights—2025

  This article presents the key results from the 2025 Bank of Canada Financial System Survey, conducted between February 10 and 28. The survey included a special section on scenarios that could lead to a severe repricing in financial markets in the near term.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Survey