Matthieu Verstraete

Matthieu Verstraete

Senior economist

Canadian Economic Analysis
Regional Analysis
  • Master of Science (M. Sc.), Economics, University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) (2006)
  • Master 2 Technique d’information et de décision dans l’entreprise, University of Paris I : Panthéon‑Sorbonne (2004)
  • Magistere of Economics, University of Paris I : Panthéon‑Sorbonne (2003)

Bio

Matthieu Verstraete is a senior economist in the Canadian Economic Analysis Department. Before joining the regional analysis team, he was a lecturer in economics at the University of Sherbrooke and, prior to that, worked at the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation. Matthieu contributes to the quarterly Business Outlook Survey, and conducts economic analysis and research. He is a co-author of two peer reviewed articles, one in Labour Economics and the other in the Economics of Education Review. He obtained his M. Sc. in Economics from the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM).

Research Field(s): Applied Econometrics Forecasting Macroeconomics
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Staff analytical notes

The Formation of House Price Expectations in Canada: Evidence from a Randomized Information Experiment

Staff Analytical Note 2019-24 Marc-André Gosselin, Mikael Khan, Matthieu Verstraete
We conduct a randomized information experiment leveraging the Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations. We provide causal evidence that respondents revise both their short- and medium-term expectations of future house price growth in a way that is consistent with observed short-term momentum in house prices. However, empirically, house price growth tends to revert to its mean in the medium term.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Financial stability, Housing JEL Code(s): C, C9, D, D8, D84, R, R2, R21

Personal Experiences and House Price Expectations: Evidence from the Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations

Staff Analytical Note 2018-8 Mikael Khan, Matthieu Verstraete
In this work, we use novel Canadian survey data to study how expectations of future changes in house prices are influenced by personal experiences. We find that recently experienced changes in local house prices are routinely extrapolated into expectations of year-ahead changes in national house prices.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Financial stability, Housing

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Staff working papers

Understanding Monetary Policy and its Effects: Evidence from Canadian Firms Using the Business Outlook Survey

Staff Working Paper 2017-24 Matthieu Verstraete, Lena Suchanek
This paper shows (i) that business sentiment, as captured by survey data, matters for monetary policy decisions in Canada, and (ii) how business perspectives are affected by monetary policy shocks. Measures of business sentiment (soft data) are shown to have systematic explanatory power for monetary policy decisions over and above typical Taylor rule variables.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Interest rates, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, E, E4, E44, E5, E52

Understanding Firms' Inflation Expectations Using the Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey

Staff Working Paper 2016-7 Simon Richards, Matthieu Verstraete
Inflation expectations are a key determinant of actual and future inflation and thus matter for the conduct of monetary policy. We study how firms form their inflation expectations using quarterly firm-level data from the Bank of Canada’s Business Outlook Survey, spanning the 2001 to 2015 period.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Credibility, Econometric and statistical methods, Firm dynamics, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): C, C1, C2, C25, D, D2, D21, D8, D84, E, E3, E31, E5, E52, E58

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Bank publications

Bank of Canada Review articles

November 13, 2014

Firm Strategy, Competitiveness and Productivity: The Case for Canada

Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2014 Lori Rennison, Farid Novin, Matthieu Verstraete
At a time when the Bank is expecting a rotation of demand toward exports and investment, and transformative global trends are placing increasing emphasis on innovation, technology and organizational learning, an understanding of the competitiveness strategies of Canadian firms and the factors affecting them has become particularly relevant. This article summarizes findings from a Bank of Canada survey of 151 firms designed to extract signals on elements of firm strategy and organizational capital in order to help inform the macroeconomic outlook.
Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Monetary policy and uncertainty, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): D, D2, D23, D24, E, E2, E22, F, F2, F20, L, L1, L10, L2, L20, M, M1, M10, O, O3, O31, O4, O47

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Journal publications

Refereed journals

  • “Public Subsidies to Private Schools do Make a Difference for Achievement in Mathematics: Longitudinal Evidence from Canada”
    (with P. Lefebvre, P. Merrigan), Economics of Education Review, vol. 30 (1), p. 79-98.
  • “Dynamic Labour Supply Effects of Childcare Subsidies: Evidence from a Canadian Natural Experiment on Low-fee Universal Child Care”
    (with P. Lefebvre, P. Merrigan), Labour Economics, vol. 16 (5), p. 490-502.

Other

Publications

  • “Firm Strategy, Competitiveness and Productivity: The Case for Canada”
    (with L. Rennison and F. Novin), Bank of Canada Review, Autumn.

Research

  • “Understanding Monetary Policy and its Effects: Evidence from Canadian firms using the Business Outlook Survey”
    CESifo Working Paper No. 7221, August 2018 [Download] [Abstract]
  • “Understanding Firms' Inflation Expectations Using the Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey”
    (with Simon Richards). September 2016. CESifo Working Paper No. 6090. Bank of Canada Staff Working Paper No. 2016-7.