Bio

Subrata Sarker was appointed Senior Policy Director in the International Economic Analysis Department in February 2022. In this capacity, he is a member of the senior management team overseeing the Bank's analysis of the global economy and providing strategic leadership to the department.

Subrata joined the Bank in 2010 as a Senior Analyst in the Global Issues Division and has held increasingly senior positions in the International Economic Analysis Department. Prior to his current role, he was a Senior Policy Advisor of the International Economic Analysis Department working primarily on overseeing that department’s contributions to the Monetary Policy Report. Before that, he was the Director of the Advanced Economies Division and led that team’s work on monitoring and analyzing economic, financial and policy developments in the United States, the Euro Area, Japan and other advanced economies. He also contributed to policy-oriented analysis of various issues in foreign advanced economies that are pertinent to monetary policy in Canada. He regularly provided policy inputs in support of the Bank’s participation in international organizations and global forums such as the G7 and G20.


Staff analytical notes

Assessing global potential output growth and the US neutral rate: April 2021

We expect global potential output growth to rise to 3 percent by 2022. Relative to the last assessment in October 2020, potential output growth has been revised up across all the regions. The range of the US neutral rate remains unchanged relative to the autumn 2020 assessment.

Digitalization and Inflation: A Review of the Literature

In the past few years, many have postulated that the possible disinflationary effects of digitalization could explain the subdued inflation in advanced economies. In this note, we review the evidence found in the literature. We look at three main channels.

Low Inflation in Advanced Economies: Facts and Drivers

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 Topic(s): Inflation and prices, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E0, E3, E31, F, F0

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Staff discussion papers

Assessing Global Potential Output Growth: October 2020

This paper presents updated estimates of potential output growth for the global economy through 2022. Global potential output growth is expected to decline sharply in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and recover partially by the end of the projection horizon of the October 2020 Monetary Policy Report.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E1, E10, E2, E20, O, O4

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Bank publications

Bank of Canada Review articles

November 16, 2017

An Update on the Neutral Rate of Interest

The neutral rate serves as a benchmark for measuring monetary stimulus and provides a medium- to long-run anchor for the real policy rate. Global neutral rate estimates have been falling over the past few decades. Factors such as population aging, high corporate savings, and low trend productivity growth are likely to continue supporting a low global neutral rate. These global factors as well as domestic factors are exerting downward pres-sure on the Canadian real neutral rate, which is estimated to be between 0.5 to 1.5 per cent. This low neutral rate has important implications for monetary policy and financial stability.
November 19, 2015

Is Slower Growth the New Normal in Advanced Economies?

This article reviews and examines some of the main explanations for the slow growth that many advanced economies continue to experience seven years after the 2007–09 global financial crisis. Does this muted recovery reflect just a prolonged cycle in the aftermath of a financial crisis? Is it due to a structural inadequacy of demand leading to a long-lasting liquidity trap? Or is it largely supply side in nature, reflecting demographic and technological factors?
November 13, 2014

Spillover Effects of Quantitative Easing on Emerging-Market Economies

While quantitative easing (QE) in the United States likely increased capital flows to emerging-market economies (EMEs), putting upward pressure on asset prices and exchange rates, diverging fundamentals between advanced economies and EMEs were also important drivers. Evidence suggests that the benefits of QE to EMEs, in higher global demand and increased confidence, appear to outweigh the costs. When advanced economies begin to normalize monetary policy, the best defence for EMEs against any potential instability is likely to be further strengthening of their macroeconomic and financial policy frameworks.
February 21, 2013

The G-20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth: Macroeconomic Coordination Since the Crisis

Since 2009, the G-20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth has provided a mechanism for international macroeconomic policy coordination. The Framework has had some successes, including agreement on objectives for fiscal consolidation. However, post-crisis global growth has been neither strong nor balanced. Progress has also been slow in developing credible fiscal consolidation plans in some advanced countries and in increasing exchange rate flexibility in certain emerging economies. A stronger peer review process and enhanced analysis of international spillovers would increase the Framework’s influence on member policies.
May 17, 2012

Inflation Targeting: The Recent International Experience

In the years since the 2006 renewal of Canada’s inflation-control agreement, monetary policy regimes have faced significant shocks, including the global economic and financial crisis. This article reviews the recent experience with inflation targeting, including the debate about the appropriate role of monetary policy in maintaining financial stability. In the aftermath of the crisis, both […]

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