Credit, Asset Prices, and Financial Stress in Canada Staff Working Paper 2008-10 Miroslav Misina, Greg Tkacz Historical narratives typically associate financial crises with credit expansions and asset price misalignments. The question is whether some combination of measures of credit and asset prices can be used to predict these events. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Financial stability JEL Code(s): E, E5, G, G1, G10
A Model of Housing Boom and Bust in a Small Open Economy Staff Working Paper 2008-9 Hajime Tomura This paper considers a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model for a small open economy and finds that an improvement in the terms of trade causes a housing boom-bust cycle if the duration of the improvement is uncertain. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Credit and credit aggregates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, F, F4, F41
China's Exchange Rate Policy: A Survey of the Literature Staff Discussion Paper 2008-5 Robert Lafrance China's integration into the world economy has benefited its people by reducing poverty and raising living standards, and it has benefited the industrialized world by producing manufactured goods at lower cost. It has also raised geopolitical concerns as China's power grows, economic concerns as the manufacturing base in many industrialized countries erodes, and polemics as proposals of protectionist measures to counter China's export growth are put forward. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Exchange rate regimes JEL Code(s): F, F3, F33, F36
Sterilized Intervention in Emerging-Market Economies: Trends, Costs, and Risks Staff Discussion Paper 2008-4 Robert Lavigne The author examines recent trends in sterilized intervention among emerging-market economies, to determine the size and extent of this policy in relation to earlier periods of heavy reserve accumulation. He then analyzes whether the domestic costs and risks of substantial and prolonged sterilization are beginning to manifest themselves. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Exchange rate regimes, Financial stability, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, F, F3, F31, O, O2, O24
Welfare Effects of Commodity Price and Exchange Rate Volatilities in a Multi-Sector Small Open Economy Model Staff Working Paper 2008-8 Ali Dib This paper develops a multi-sector New Keynesian model of a small open economy that includes commodity, manufacturing, non-tradable, and import sectors. Price and wage rigidities are sector specific, modelled à la Calvo-Yun style contracts. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Exchange rate regimes, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E4, E5, E52, F, F3, F4
Markups in Canada: Have They Changed and Why? Staff Working Paper 2008-7 Danny Leung Many empirical studies have examined the cyclical nature of the markup ratio. Until recently, few have attempted to ascertain the changes in the markup over a longer time horizon. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, F, F4, F41, L, L1, L11
Inflation Targeting and Price-Level-Path Targeting in the GEM: Some Open Economy Considerations Staff Working Paper 2008-6 Donald Coletti, René Lalonde, Dirk Muir This paper compares the performance of simple inflation targeting (IT) and price-level path targeting (PLPT) rules to stabilize the macroeconomy, in response to a series of shocks, similar to those seen in Canada and the United States over the 1983 to 2004 period. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Inflation and prices, Inflation: costs and benefits, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): C, C5, C51, C52, E, E1, E17, E3, E31, E5, E52
Understanding Productivity: A Review of Recent Technical Research Staff Discussion Paper 2008-3 Richard Dion, Robert Fay The authors provide an extensive review of the rapidly expanding research on productivity, both at the macro and micro levels. They focus primarily on papers written about Canada, but also draw on selected studies from other countries, especially the United States, where such work sheds important light on particular aspects of productivity growth. The authors […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Productivity JEL Code(s): D, D2, D24, O, O3, O31, O4, O40, O47
Unsecured Debt, Consumer Bankruptcy, and Small Business Staff Working Paper 2008-5 Césaire Meh, Yaz Terajima In this paper we develop a quantitative model of entrepreneurial activity (risk-taking) and consumer bankruptcy choices and use the model to study the effects of bankruptcy regulations on entrepreneurial activity, bankruptcy rate and welfare. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): D, D3, D31, E, E2, E21, J, J2, J23
What Affects MFP in the Long-Run? Evidence from Canadian Industries Staff Working Paper 2008-4 Danny Leung, Yi Zheng In this paper we explore variables that may have an impact on multifactor productivity (MFP) in the long-run using the KLEMS database for Canada. We estimate a dynamic heterogeneous panel error-correction model of twelve 2-digit level industries. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Productivity JEL Code(s): C, C2, C23, D, D2, D24, O, O3, O30