Low Inflation in Advanced Economies: Facts and Drivers Staff analytical note 2017-16 Sanjana Bhatnagar, Anne-Katherine Cormier, Patrisha de Leon-Manlagnit, Elise Martin, Vikram Rai, Renaud St-Cyr, Subrata Sarker, Kristina Hess 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 JEL Code(s): E, E0, E3, E31, F, F0 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting
Complementing the Credit Risk Assessment of Financial Counterparties with Market-Based Indicators Staff analytical note 2017-15 Guillaume Ouellet Leblanc, Maarten van Oordt The Bank’s internal credit risk assessment abilities are regularly enhanced. In this note, we present a recent innovation that extends the set of market-based indicators used in the credit risk assessment of financial counterparties. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): G, G1, G10, G2, G24 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial stability and systemic risk
Can the Canadian International Investment Position Stabilize a Slowing Economy? Staff analytical note 2017-14 Maxime Leboeuf, Chen Fan In this note, we find that valuation effects can act as an important stabilizer, strengthening Canada’s net external wealth when its economic outlook worsens relative to that of other countries. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): F, F2, F21, F3, F32 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness
Redistributive Effects of a Change in the Inflation Target Staff analytical note 2017-13 Robert Amano, Thomas J. Carter, Yaz Terajima In light of the financial crisis and its aftermath, several economists have argued that inflation-targeting central banks should reconsider the level of their inflation targets. While the appropriate level for the inflation target remains an open question, it’s important to note that any transition to a new target would entail certain costs. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting
A Dynamic Factor Model for Commodity Prices Staff analytical note 2017-12 Doga Bilgin, Reinhard Ellwanger In this note, we present the Commodities Factor Model (CFM), a dynamic factor model for a large cross-section of energy and non-energy commodity prices. The model decomposes price changes in commodities into a common “global” component, a “block” component confined to subgroups of economically related commodities and an idiosyncratic price shock component. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): C, C5, C51, Q, Q0, Q02 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures
Do Canadian Broker-Dealers Act as Agents or Principals in Bond Trading? Staff analytical note 2017-11 Daniel Hyun, Jesse Johal, Corey Garriott Technology, risk tolerance and regulation may influence dealers to reduce their trading as principals (using their own balance sheets for sales and purchases of securities) in favour of agency trading (matching client trades). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): G, G1, G14, G2, G20, L, L1 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Market structure
Has Liquidity in Canadian Government Bond Markets Deteriorated? Staff analytical note 2017-10 Sermin Gungor, Jun Yang This note presents measures of liquidity used by the Bank of Canada to monitor market conditions and discusses recent trends in Government of Canada (GoC) fixed-income market liquidity. Our results indicate that the Bank’s measures have improved since the financial crisis. Furthermore, GoC market liquidity deteriorated following several stressful events: the euro crisis in 2011, the taper tantrum in 2013 and the oil price shock in 2015. In all three cases, the deterioration remained within historical norms and liquidity returned to normal levels afterwards. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): G, G1, G12, G14 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Market structure
Labour Force Participation: A Comparison of the United States and Canada Staff analytical note 2017-9 James Ketcheson, Natalia Kyui, Benoit Vincent This note explores the drivers behind the recent increase in the US participation rate in the labour market and assesses the likelihood of a similar gain in Canada. The growth in the US participation rate has largely been due to a pickup in the participation of prime-age workers following a post-recession decline. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J21 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
Wage Growth in Canada and the United States: Factors Behind Recent Weakness Staff analytical note 2017-8 Dany Brouillette, James Ketcheson, Olena Kostyshyna, Jonathan Lachaine This note examines the relatively subdued pace of wage growth in Canada since the commodity price decline in 2014 and assesses whether the weakness is attributable to cyclical (e.g., labour market slack) or structural factors (e.g., resource reallocation and demographic change). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J3, J30 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
A Structural Interpretation of the Recent Weakness in Business Investment Staff analytical note 2017-7 Russell Barnett, Rhys R. Mendes Since 2012, business investment growth has slowed considerably in advanced economies, averaging a little less than 2 per cent versus the 4 per cent growth rates experienced in the period leading up to crisis. Several recent studies have attributed a large part of the weakness in business investment to cyclical factors, including soft aggregate demand, and, to a lesser degree, heightened uncertainty and tighter financial conditions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E22, E3, E37 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply