Monetary policy

Our commitment is to keep inflation low, stable and predictable. To do this, we must understand what causes inflation and ensure our tools and framework remain fit for purpose in a world with more frequent supply disruptions.

In recent years, Canada has faced high inflation and used exceptional monetary policy tools, such as quantitative easing, to restore price stability. Looking back on this period offers a valuable opportunity to understand the underlying drivers of inflation and evaluate the effectiveness of these monetary policy tools.

The future of the economic environment remains uncertain, and structural challenges are making both the global and Canadian economies more susceptible to supply disruptions. That makes it important to gain a comprehensive understanding of how these challenges affect production, employment, inflation dynamics and the transmission of monetary policy.

Studying these issues will help monetary policy adapt to changes in the economy and maintain price stability. We are looking at issues in several areas, including:

  • the pricing strategies that firms use, including during supply shocks
  • the best approaches for setting monetary policy in periods of high uncertainty
  • the impact of monetary policy on the supply and demand of housing
  • the effectiveness of various monetary policy tools used during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • the ability of flexible inflation-targeting to maintain price stability when the economy is unpredictable

Inflation dynamics

Our research on inflation dynamics aims to further our understanding of the factors behind inflation, particularly since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, we are using new data sources, innovative research methods and advanced economic models. For example, we are using novel business- and product-level data to explore how businesses pass on costs to consumers. Similarly, consumer-level data help us understand how households adjust their spending and expectations as inflation rises and falls.

Transmission and conduct of monetary policy

Canada is entering a period of rapid economic transformation. In this context, we need to understand how monetary policy affects different households and businesses and how it works its way through the economy. We must also find the best way to set monetary policy and manage risks—responding to trade-offs between stabilizing growth and controlling inflation—particularly if Canada faces more frequent supply shocks.

Monetary policy tools and implementation

The economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the Bank to use extraordinary tools, such as quantitative easing. The use of these tools has had a significant impact on the size and structure of the Bank’s balance sheet. Our research focuses on the impact and effectiveness of these tools and on how the Bank can effectively influence market interest rates with an expanded balance sheet.

Monetary policy framework

Jointly with the Government of Canada, the Bank reviews its monetary policy framework every five years to keep pace with changes in the economic environment. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more frequent shocks and unprecedented challenges have increased volatility, generated persistent imbalances in the housing market and reduced the reliability of our key measures of underlying inflation. Our research will help future reviews of our framework to ensure that monetary policy remains effective in promoting the economic and financial well-being of Canadians.

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Central Bank Digital Currency: Motivations and Implications

Staff discussion paper 2017-16 Walter Engert, Ben Fung
The emergence of digital currencies such as Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain and distribution ledger technology have attracted significant attention. These developments have raised the possibility of considerable impacts on the financial system and perhaps the wider economy.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures

The Impacts of Monetary Policy Statements

Staff analytical note 2017-22 Bruno Feunou, Corey Garriott, James Kyeong, Raisa Leiderman
In this note, we find that market participants react to an unexpected change in the tone of Canadian monetary policy statements. When the market perceives that the Bank of Canada plans to tighten (or alternatively, loosen) the monetary policy earlier than previously expected, the Canadian dollar appreciates (or depreciates) and long-term Government of Canada bond yields increase (or decrease). The tone of a statement is particularly relevant to the market when the policy rate has been unchanged for some time.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, E5, E52, F, F3, F31, G, G1, G12 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission

Is the Discretionary Income Effect of Oil Price Shocks a Hoax?

Staff working paper 2017-50 Christiane Baumeister, Lutz Kilian, Xiaoqing Zhou
The transmission of oil price shocks has been a question of central interest in macroeconomics since the 1970s. There has been renewed interest in this question after the large and persistent fall in the real price of oil in 2014–16. In the context of this debate, Ramey (2017) makes the striking claim that the existing literature on the transmission of oil price shocks is fundamentally confused about the question of how to quantify the effect of oil price shocks.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C51, Q, Q4, Q43 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting

Product Sophistication and the Slowdown in Chinese Export Growth

Staff discussion paper 2017-15 Mark Kruger, Walter Steingress, Sri Thanabalasingam
Chinese real export growth decelerated considerably during the last decade. This paper argues that the slowdown largely resulted from China moving to a more sophisticated mix of exports: China produced more sophisticated goods over which it had pricing power instead of producing greater volumes of less sophisticated products.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): F, F1, F14, F17, O, O1, O10 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness

Evaluating Real GDP Growth Forecasts in the Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report

Staff analytical note 2017-21 André Binette, Dmitri Tchebotarev
This paper examines the quality of projections of real GDP growth taken from the Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report (MPR) since they were first published in 1997. Over the last decade, it has become common practice among the central banking community to discuss forecast performance publicly.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): C, C5, C52, E, E3, E32, E37, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
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Disclaimer

Bank of Canada staff produce research and analysis to support the work of the Bank and to advance knowledge in the fields of economics and finance. The research is non-partisan and evidence based. All research is produced independently from the Bank’s Governing Council. The views expressed in each paper or article are solely those of the authors and may differ from official Bank of Canada views.

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