Bio

Julien Champagne is a Principal researcher in the Canadian Economic Studies division of the Canadian Economic Analysis (CEA) Department. His research interests include applied macroeconomics, monetary policy and labour markets. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM).


Staff analytical notes

Assessing the effects of higher immigration on the Canadian economy and inflation

We assess the complex macroeconomic implications of Canada’s recent population increases. We find that newcomers significantly boost the non-inflationary, potential growth of the economy, but existing imbalances in the housing sector may be exacerbated. Greater housing supply is needed to complement the long-term economic benefits of population growth.

Potential output and the neutral rate in Canada: 2023 assessment

We expect that potential output growth will rebound from 1.4% in 2022 to 2.2% on average between 2023 and 2026. We revised down our estimates of growth over 2022–25 relative to the April 2022 assessment. The Canadian nominal neutral rate remains unchanged—in the range of 2% to 3%.

Potential output in Canada: 2020 reassessment

After COVID-19, we expect potential output growth to stabilize around 1.2 percent. This is lower than the 2010–18 average growth of 1.8 percent. Relative to the April 2019 reassessment, the growth profile is revised down. Given the unknown course of the pandemic, uncertainty around these estimates is higher than in previous years.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Labour markets, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E0, E00, E2, E23, E24, E3, E37, E6

Potential Output in Canada: 2019 Reassessment

Potential output is expected to grow on average at 1.8 per cent over 2019–21 and at 1.9 per cent in 2022. While the contribution of trend labour input to potential output growth is expected to decrease between 2019 and 2022, the contribution of trend labour productivity is projected to increase.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Labour markets, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E0, E00, E2, E22, E23, E24, E3, E37, E6

The Complex Adjustment of the Canadian Economy to Lower Commodity Prices

In this analytical note, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the complex structural adjustment facing the Canadian economy following the commodity price decline since mid-2014. We quantify separately the impacts coming from the commodity sector restructuring and the broader effect of significantly lower terms of trade.

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Staff working papers

Monetary Policy, Credit Constraints and SME Employment

Staff Working Paper 2022-49 Julien Champagne, Émilien Gouin-Bonenfant
We revisit an old question: how do financial constraints affect the transmission of monetary policy to the real economy? To answer this question, we propose a simple empirical strategy that combines firm-level employment and balance sheet data, identified monetary policy shocks and survey data on financing activities.

Evaluating the Bank of Canada Staff Economic Projections Using a New Database of Real-Time Data and Forecasts

We present a novel database of real-time data and forecasts from the Bank of Canada’s staff economic projections. We then provide a forecast evaluation for GDP growth and CPI inflation since 1982: we compare the staff forecasts with those from commonly used time-series models estimated with real-time data and with forecasts from other professional forecasters and provide standard bias tests.

Changes in Monetary Regimes and the Identification of Monetary Policy Shocks: Narrative Evidence from Canada

Staff Working Paper 2017-39 Julien Champagne, Rodrigo Sekkel
We use narrative evidence along with a novel database of real-time data and forecasts from the Bank of Canada's staff economic projections from 1974 to 2015 to construct a new measure of monetary policy shocks and estimate the effects of monetary policy in Canada.

The Real-Time Properties of the Bank of Canada’s Staff Output Gap Estimates

We study the revision properties of the Bank of Canada’s staff output gap estimates since the mid-1980s. Our results suggest that the average staff output gap revision has decreased significantly over the past 15 years, in line with recent evidence for the U.S.

The Carrot and the Stick: The Business Cycle Implications of Incentive Pay in the Labor Search Model

Staff Working Paper 2015-35 Julien Champagne
This paper considers a real business cycle model with labor search frictions where two types of incentive pay are explicitly introduced following the insights from the micro literature on performance pay (e.g. Lazear, 1986).

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Journal publications

Refereed journals

Other

  • “Monetary policy and Employment: Revisiting the Firm-Size Effect”.
    (with Emilien Gouin-Bonenfant).
  • “Mismeasurement of Unemployment Duration and Labour Force Status in the CPS”. 2016.
  • Has the Canadian economy become more predictable? Evidence from BoC staff forecasts.