James (Jim) C. MacGee - Latest

• The Distributional Origins of the Canada-US GDP and Labour Productivity Gaps

  Staff Working Paper 2024-49 James (Jim) C. MacGee, Joel Rodrigue

  We find the top 10% of the income distribution accounts for three-quarters of the gap in GDP per adult between Canada and the United States. The large gaps in income for high-income earners help distinguish between alternative explanations of this persistent gap in GDP per adult.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Productivity JEL Code(s): D, D3, D31, E, E2, E24, J, J2, J24, J6, J61, N, N1, N12, O, O4, O47, O5, O51

• The 2021–22 Surge in Inflation

  Staff Discussion Paper 2023-3 Oleksiy Kryvtsov, James (Jim) C. MacGee, Luis Uzeda

  The rise in inflation in 2021–22 sparked a growing literature and debate over the causes of the surge as well as the near- and medium-term path for inflation. This review offers three key messages.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52, E58

• Consumer Credit with Over-optimistic Borrowers

  Staff Working Paper 2020-57 Florian Exler, Igor Livshits, James (Jim) C. MacGee, Michèle Tertilt

  When lenders cannot directly identify behavioural and rational borrowers, they use type scoring to track the likelihood of a borrower’s type. This leads to the partial pooling of borrowers, which results in rational borrowers subsidizing borrowing costs for behavioural borrowers. This, in turn, reduces the effectiveness of regulatory policies that target mistakes by behavioural borrowers.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Credit risk management, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): E, E2, E21, E4, E49, G, G1, G18, K, K3, K35

• The Heterogeneous Effects of COVID-19 on Canadian Household Consumption, Debt and Savings

  Staff Working Paper 2020-51 James (Jim) C. MacGee, Thomas Michael Pugh, Kurt See

  The impact of COVID-19 on Canadian households’ debt and unplanned savings varies by household income. Low-income and high-income households accrued unplanned savings, while middle-income households tended to accumulate more debt.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Financial stability JEL Code(s): E, E2, E21, E24, G, G5, G51

• Has the Inflation Process Changed? Selective Review of Recent Research on Inflation Dynamics

  Staff Discussion Paper 2020-11 Oleksiy Kryvtsov, James (Jim) C. MacGee

  From 2011 to 2019, inflation in Canada and advanced economies usually registered below inflation targets, spurring the debate on whether the inflation process has changed. This paper highlights emerging questions that will influence the conduct of monetary policy in Canada in the near term.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Inflation and prices, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52
• March 6, 2020

  Evaluating our approach to monetary policy

  

  James (Jim) C. MacGee, Rhys R. Mendes

  Inflation targeting has been successful in Canada over the past 30 years. But is it the best we can do? The Bank of Canada asks itself, and Canadians, that question every five years.

  Content Type(s): Publications, The Economy, Plain and Simple Research Topic(s): Credibility, Inflation targets, Inflation: costs and benefits, Interest rates, Monetary policy framework, Price stability

• Price-Level Dispersion versus Inflation-Rate Dispersion: Evidence from Three Countries

  Staff Working Paper 2017-3 David Fielding, Christopher Hajzler, James (Jim) C. MacGee

  Inflation can affect both the dispersion of commodity-specific price levels across locations (relative price variability, RPV) and the dispersion of inflation rates (relative inflation variability, RIV). Some menu-cost models and models of consumer search suggest that the RIV-inflation relationship could differ from the RPV-inflation relationship.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Inflation and prices JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E50