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I develop a method for Bayesian estimation of globally solved, non-linear macroeconomic models. The method uses a mixture density network to approximate the initial state distribution. The mixture density network results in more reliable posterior inference compared with the case when the initial states are set to their steady-state values.

The evolution of Canada’s trade relationship with the United States and the war in the Middle East remain the two most important risks to the outlook for inflation.

Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle provides an update on when quantitative tightening will end and explains how the Bank of Canada will manage its balance sheet going forward.

Before the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, the Canadian economy was evolving as expected. Since the war began, oil prices have risen, pushing inflation up, and the outlook has become more uncertain.

In its conduct of monetary policy, the Bank of Canada carefully monitors the pace of monetary expansion for indications about the outlook for inflation and economic activity. In recent years, a number of factors have distorted the growth of the traditional broad and narrow aggregates. In this article, the authors discuss the uncertainty surrounding the classification of deposit instruments that has resulted from the elimination of reserve requirements and from other financial innovations. They introduce two new measures of transactions balances, M1+ and M1++ (described more fully in a technical note in this issue of the Review), that internalize some of the substitutions that have occurred. They attribute the deceleration in M1 growth in 1998 partly to the declining influence of special factors, partly to a lagged response to interest rate increases in 1997 and early 1998, and partly to some temporary tightening in credit conditions in the autumn of 1998. The broad monetary aggregate M2++, which includes all personal savings deposits, life insurance annuities, and mutual funds, grew at a steady pace in 1998, presaging growth of about 4 to 5 per cent in total dollar spending and inflation inside the target range.

On June 1, the Bank of Canada decided to increase its policy interest rate by half a percentage point. Speaking the next day, Deputy Governor Paul Beaudry explains why inflation has been higher than expected and what we are doing to get it back to our 2% target.

Prices change all the time, and some change more often than others. How often prices change can affect how quickly shifts in economic conditions affect inflation.

Read a message from Governor Macklem and learn more about our planning framework and how we will put our strategic plan into action.

We consider introducing an expiry date for offline digital currency balances. Consumers whose digital cash expired would automatically receive the funds back into their online account. This functionality could increase demand for digital cash, with the time to expiry playing a key role.

Potential output is expected to grow on average at 1.8 per cent over 2019–21 and at 1.9 per cent in 2022. While the contribution of trend labour input to potential output growth is expected to decrease between 2019 and 2022, the contribution of trend labour productivity is projected to increase.