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Macroeconomic theories have traditionally been tested using non‐experimental data from the field. However, modern, micro‐based macroeconomic models can also be tested in the laboratory, which affords better causal inference, and researchers have begun to pursue such experimental tests.

Conference held on November 7 and 8, 2024.

Workshop held on September 13 and 14, 2018.

Conference held on November 8 to 10, 2021.

Using a controlled macroeconomic experiment, we compare monetary policy rules that differ in how much they look through inflation: a Lean-Against policy with strong response to inflation and a Look-Through policy with less strong response. We combine each rule with communication protocols that vary the information the central bank releases about its policy response.

We use controlled laboratory experiments to test the causal effects of central bank communication on economic expectations and to distinguish the underlying mechanisms of those effects. In an experiment where subjects learn to forecast economic variables, we find that central bank communication has a stabilizing effect on individual and aggregate outcomes and that the size of the effect varies with the type of communication.

This monthly newsletter features the latest research publications by Bank of Canada economists including external publications and working papers published on the Bank of Canada’s website.

This article describes experimental economics, in general, and new developments in experimental macroeconomics, in particular. The approach has a clear niche in providing evidence on economic phenomena that cannot be observed directly or that are difficult to measure. Experimental work conducted by Bank of Canada economists has shed light on a number of issues important to monetary policy, such as the relative efficacy between price-level and inflation targeting, and the nature of inflation expectations formation.

This monthly newsletter features the latest research publications by Bank of Canada economists including external publications and working papers published on the Bank of Canada’s website.