Bio

Kristina Hess is an Assistant Director in the Real Economic Activity of the Canadian Economic Analysis Department. She joined the Bank in September 2012 after completing the MA Economics program at Queen’s University.

Staff research

Exploring Wage Phillips Curves in Advanced Economies

Staff discussion paper 2019-8 Rose Cunningham, Vikram Rai, Kristina Hess
We investigate the extent to which excess supply (demand) in labour markets contributes to a lower (higher) growth rate of average nominal wages for workers. Using panel methods on data from 10 advanced economies for 1992–2018, we produce reduced-form estimates of a wage Phillips curve specification that is consistent with a New Keynesian framework.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, E, E3, E31, E32 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

Assessing Global Potential Output Growth: April 2019

Staff analytical note 2019-13 Fares Bounajm, Jean-Philippe Cayen, Michael Francis, Christopher Hajzler, Kristina Hess, Guillaume Poulin-Bellisle, Peter Selcuk
This note presents the updated estimates of potential output growth for the global economy through 2021. Global potential output is expected to grow by 3.3 per cent per year over the projection horizon.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E1, E10, E2, E20, O, O4 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity, International trade, finance and competitiveness

Drivers of Weak Wage Growth in Advanced Economies

Staff analytical note 2019-3 Anne-Katherine Cormier, Michael Francis, Kristina Hess, Guillaume Poulin-Bellisle
Since the global financial crisis, advanced-economy wage growth has been generally low relative to past recoveries, especially after accounting for the evolution of labour market conditions over this period. This paper investigates a variety of potential explanations for this weakness, drawing on findings from the literature as well as analysis of recent labour market data in advanced economies.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, F, F0, J, J3 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

Assessing Global Potential Output Growth: April 2018

Staff analytical note 2018-9 Richard Beard, Anne-Katherine Cormier, Michael Francis, Katerina Gribbin, Justin-Damien Guénette, Christopher Hajzler, James Ketcheson, Kun Mo, Louis Poirier, Peter Selcuk, Kristina Hess
This note presents our estimates of potential output growth for the global economy through 2020. Overall, we expect global potential output growth to remain broadly stable over the projection horizon, averaging 3.3 per cent, although there is considerable uncertainty surrounding these estimates.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E1, E10, E2, E20, O, O4 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity

Understanding the Time Variation in Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Import Prices

Staff discussion paper 2017-12 Rose Cunningham, Min Jae Kim, Christian Friedrich, Kristina Hess
In this paper, we analyze the presence of time variation in the pass-through from the nominal effective exchange rate to import prices for 24 advanced economies over the period 1995–2015. In line with earlier studies in the literature, we find substantial heterogeneity in the level of exchange rate pass-through across countries.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, F, F3, F31, F4, F41 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness

Low Inflation in Advanced Economies: Facts and Drivers

Staff analytical note 2017-16 Sanjana Bhatnagar, Anne-Katherine Cormier, Patrisha de Leon-Manlagnit, Elise Martin, Vikram Rai, Renaud St-Cyr, Subrata Sarker, Kristina Hess
Since the global financial crisis, core inflation has been persistently below target in most advanced economies. Recently, it has weakened further in several advanced economies despite gradually diminishing slack. This note reviews recent developments in core inflation across advanced economies and identifies distinctive patterns across regions.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E0, E3, E31, F, F0 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting

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Bank publications

Bank of Canada Review articles

May 16, 2016

Monetary Policy Frameworks: Recent International Developments

Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2016 Robert Fay, Kristina Hess
Inflation-targeting frameworks have remained relatively stable over the past few years despite significant challenges, including prolonged low inflation, a large negative commodity price shock and rising financial stability concerns in some economies. The tools used by central banks have, however, evolved substantially. This article provides a survey of the developments in the inflation-targeting frameworks of 10 central banks in advanced economies that correspond to the three research areas of the Bank of Canada’s 2016 renewal: the level of the inflation target, the measurement of core inflation and financial stability considerations in the formulation of monetary policy.
Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58

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Journal publications

Journal publications

  • “Monetary Policy and Financial Stability: Cross-Country Evidence” (with Christian Friedrich and Rose Cunningham), Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Vol 51: 403-453, March-April 2019.
  • “International Transmission Channels of U.S. Quantitative Easing: Evidence from Canada” (with Tatjana Dahlhaus and Abeer Reza), Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Vol 50: 545-563, March-April 2018.