Estimating Policy Functions in Payments Systems Using Reinforcement Learning Staff Working Paper 2021-7 Pablo S. Castro, Ajit Desai, Han Du, Rodney J. Garratt, Francisco Rivadeneyra We demonstrate the ability of reinforcement learning techniques to estimate the best-response functions of banks participating in high-value payments systems—a real-world strategic game of incomplete information. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): A, A1, A12, C, C7, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E42, E5, E58
Markups, Pass-Through, and Firm Heterogeneity with Sequentially Mixed Search Staff Working Paper 2025-7 Alex Chernoff, Allen Head, Beverly Lapham Market power and pass-through of cost and demand shocks are studied in a market with free entry of heterogeneous firms and consumer mixed search. Equilibrium prices and markups are driven by variation in the elasticity of demand across firms. Improved conditions for buyers can either raise or lower market power. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Service sector JEL Code(s): D, D2, D21, D4, D43, E, E3, E31, L, L1, L11
On the Evolution of the United Kingdom Price Distributions Staff Working Paper 2018-25 Ba M. Chu, Kim Huynh, David T. Jacho-Chávez, Oleksiy Kryvtsov We propose a functional principal components method that accounts for stratified random sample weighting and time dependence in the observations to understand the evolution of distributions of monthly micro-level consumer prices for the United Kingdom (UK). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Inflation and prices JEL Code(s): C, C1, C14, C8, C83, E, E3, E31, E37
June 7, 2018 Establishing a Resolution Regime for Canada’s Financial Market Infrastructures Financial System Review - June 2018 Elizabeth Woodman, Lucia Chung, Nikil Chande This report highlights how an effective resolution regime promotes financial stability. It does this by ensuring that financial market infrastructures (FMIs) would be able to continue to provide their critical functions during a period of stress when an FMI’s own recovery measures were failing. The report explains the Bank of Canada’s new role as the resolution authority for FMIs, which will further bolster financial system resilience. Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G1, G10, G19, G2, G20, G28, G29
How Banks Create Gridlock to Save Liquidity in Canada's Large Value Payment System Staff Working Paper 2023-26 Rodney J. Garratt, Zhentong Lu, Phoebe Tian We show how participants in Canada’s new high-value payment system save liquidity by exploiting the new gridlock resolution arrangement. The findings have important implications for the design of these systems and shed light on financial institutions’ liquidity preference. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E58, G, G2, G21
Inference in Games Without Nash Equilibrium: An Application to Restaurants’ Competition in Opening Hours Staff Working Paper 2018-60 Erhao Xie This paper relaxes the Bayesian Nash equilibrium (BNE) assumption commonly imposed in empirical discrete choice games with incomplete information. Instead of assuming that players have unbiased/correct expectations, my model treats a player’s belief about the behavior of other players as an unrestricted unknown function. I study the joint identification of belief and payoff functions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): C, C5, C57, L, L1, L13, L8, L85
October 3, 2023 Understanding the unusual: How firms set prices during periods of high inflation Remarks Nicolas Vincent Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal Montréal, Quebec Deputy Governor Nicolas Vincent discusses how firms set their prices and how pricing behaviour changed in our recent environment of high inflation. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Research Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Inflation and prices, Price stability
Testing Collusion and Cooperation in Binary Choice Games Staff Working Paper 2023-58 Erhao Xie This paper studies the testable implication of players’ collusive or cooperative behaviour in a binary choice game with complete information. I illustrate the implementation of this test by revisiting the entry game between Walmart and Kmart. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): C, C5, C57, L, L1, L13
Information, Risk Sharing and Incentives in Agency Problems Staff Working Paper 2015-7 Jia Xie This paper studies the use of information for incentives and risk sharing in agency problems. When the principal is risk neutral or the outcome is contractible, risk sharing is unnecessary or completely taken care of by a contract on the outcome. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models JEL Code(s): D, D8
2017 Methods-of-Payment Survey Report Staff Discussion Paper 2018-17 Christopher Henry, Kim Huynh, Angelika Welte Cash use is declining while contactless and mobile payments are on the rise. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial services JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E41