Pricing behaviour and inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from consumer prices microdata Staff Analytical Note 2024-6 Olga Bilyk, Mikael Khan, Olena Kostyshyna Using the microdata underlying the Canadian consumer price index, we study how often and by how much firms changed their prices during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that the surge in inflation was mainly associated with retailers raising prices much more often than before. We also find that more recently, corporate price-setting behaviour appears to be approaching pre-pandemic norms. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Inflation and prices, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, E, E3, E31, L, L1, L11
November 9, 2023 Getting used to higher interest rates Speech summary Carolyn Rogers Advocis Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers talks about why interest rates could settle at a higher level than Canadians are used to and why preparing early for that possible outcome is important. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Topic(s): Credit risk management, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Firm dynamics, Interest rates, Monetary and financial indicators, Recent economic and financial developments
November 9, 2023 Financial stability in a world of higher interest rates Remarks Carolyn Rogers Advocis Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers talks about financial stability in an era of higher interest rates. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Credit risk management, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Firm dynamics, Interest rates, Monetary and financial indicators, Recent economic and financial developments
Identifying Nascent High-Growth Firms Using Machine Learning Staff Working Paper 2023-53 Stephanie Houle, Ryan Macdonald Firms that grow rapidly have the potential to usher in new innovations, products or processes (Kogan et al. 2017), become superstar firms (Haltiwanger et al. 2013) and impact the aggregate labour share (Autor et al. 2020; De Loecker et al. 2020). We explore the use of supervised machine learning techniques to identify a population of nascent high-growth firms using Canadian administrative firm-level data. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Firm dynamics JEL Code(s): C, C5, C55, C8, C81, L, L2, L25
October 3, 2023 How price setting influences inflation Speech summary Nicolas Vincent Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal Montréal, Quebec Deputy Governor Nicolas Vincent talks about how companies set their prices, how those practices changed during the pandemic and why this remains a risk for inflation. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Inflation and prices, Price stability
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 Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Inflation and prices, Price stability
September 7, 2023 Staying the course Speech summary Tiff Macklem Calgary Chamber of Commerce Calgary, Alberta Speaking a day after we decided to maintain the policy interest rate at 5%, Governor Tiff Macklem explores some key factors behind the decision. He also explains why the 2% inflation target supports a stable economy and greater prosperity for households and businesses. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Topic(s): Credibility, Domestic demand and components, Expectations, Firm dynamics, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Inflation: costs and benefits, Labour markets, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission, Price stability, Recent economic and financial developments
September 7, 2023 Economic progress report: Target in sight, but we’re not there yet Remarks Tiff Macklem Calgary Chamber of Commerce Calgary, Alberta Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem talks about the Bank’s latest interest rate announcement and what’s happening with inflation beyond the headline numbers. He also discusses why the Bank’s 2% inflation target is the right one. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Credibility, Domestic demand and components, Expectations, Firm dynamics, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Inflation: costs and benefits, Labour markets, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission, Price stability, Recent economic and financial developments
Labour Supply and Firm Size Staff Working Paper 2023-47 Lin Shao, Faisal Sohail, Emircan Yurdagul This paper documents a systematic pattern of how wages, hours and their relationship vary across firms of different sizes. Using a model with heterogeneous firms and workers, we show how the interplay between wages, hours and firm size affect worker sorting and inequality. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Labour markets JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J3, J31
Competition for Exclusivity and Customer Lock-in: Evidence from Copyright Enforcement in China Staff Working Paper 2023-43 Youming Liu This paper studies the music streaming industry and argues that having exclusive rights granted by copyright law drives firms to offer exclusive content to lock in customers. I employ theoretical and descriptive empirical analysis, along with a dynamic structural model, to support the argument and explore policies for improving competition. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Firm dynamics, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): L, L1, L13, L4, L42, L5, L51