The Impacts of Minimum Wage Increases on the Canadian Economy Staff analytical note 2017-26 Dany Brouillette, Daniel Gao, Olivier Gervais, Calista Cheung This note reviews the channels through which scheduled minimum wage increases over the coming years may affect Canadian economic activity and inflation and assesses their macroeconomic impacts. From reduced-form estimates of direct minimum wage pass-through, we find that consumer price index (CPI) inflation could be boosted by about 0.1 percentage point (pp) on average in 2018. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J21, J22, J23 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting
Recent Evolution of Canada’s Credit-to-GDP Gap: Measurement and Interpretation Staff analytical note 2017-25 Timothy Grieder, Dylan Hogg, Thibaut Duprey Over the past several years, the Bank for International Settlements has noted that Canada’s credit-to-GDP gap has widened and is above thresholds indicating future banking stress. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): D, D1, E, E3, E32, G, G0, G01, G1, G2, G21, G3, G30 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Household and business credit
A Barometer of Canadian Financial System Vulnerabilities Staff analytical note 2017-24 Thibaut Duprey, Tom Roberts This note presents a composite indicator of Canadian financial system vulnerabilities—the Vulnerabilities Barometer. It aims to complement the Bank of Canada’s vulnerabilities assessment by adding a quantitative and synthesized perspective to the more granular (distributional) analysis presented in the Financial System Review. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): C, C1, C14, C4, C40, D, D1, D14, E, E3, E32, E6, E66, F, F0, F01, G, G0, G01, G1, G15, G2, G21, H, H6, H63 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Household and business credit, Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods
Do Liquidity Proxies Measure Liquidity in Canadian Bond Markets? Staff analytical note 2017-23 Jean-Sébastien Fontaine, Jeffrey Gao, Jabir Sandhu, Kobe Wu This analytical note evaluates the reliability of proxies for measuring liquidity in Canadian bond markets. We find that price-impact and bid-ask proxies paint a similar picture of evolving liquidity conditions to that obtained from richer measures of liquidity for benchmark Government of Canada bonds. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): G, G1, G12, G14, G2, G23, G3, G32 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Market functioning
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
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
Digitalization and Inflation: A Review of the Literature Staff analytical note 2017-20 Karyne B. Charbonneau, Alexa Evans, Subrata Sarker, Lena Suchanek 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. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, E, E3, E31, L, L8, L81, O, O3, O33 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity
Digital Transformation in the Service Sector: Insights from Consultations with Firms in Wholesale, Retail and Logistics Staff analytical note 2017-19 Wei Dong, James Fudurich, Lena Suchanek Firms increasingly rely on digital technologies such as e-commerce, cloud computing, big data, digital tracking and digital platforms that are reshaping business operations, business models and market structures. In this context, the Bank of Canada consulted with firms in wholesale, retail and logistics, as well as with related industry associations to yield insights on the adoption of digital technologies. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, E, E3, E31, L, L8, L81, L9, L92, O, O3, O33 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity
Alternative Scenario to the October 2017 MPR Base-Case Projection: Higher Potential Growth Staff analytical note 2017-18 Jing Yang, Ben Tomlin, Olivier Gervais We construct an alternative scenario in which trend labour input and business investment are stronger than that expected in the Bank of Canada’s base-case projection in the October 2017 Monetary Policy Report. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E22, E24, E27, E5 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
Global Factors and Inflation in Canada Staff analytical note 2017-17 Dany Brouillette, Laurence Savoie-Chabot This note investigates whether the recent weakness in inflation in Canada can be related to global factors not included in the current staff analytical framework (domestic slack, movements in commodity prices and in the exchange rate). A global common factor for inflation among selected advanced economies appears to contain marginal information for Canadian inflation beyond what is found in movements in commodity prices and the exchange rate. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness