The Side Effects of Safe Asset Creation Staff working paper 2021-34 Sushant Acharya, Keshav Dogra The secular decline in real interest rates has created a challenge for monetary policy, now confronting the zero lower bound more often. An increase in the supply of safe assets reduces downward pressure on the natural interest rate. This allows monetary policy to reach price stability and full employment, but not without cost—permanently lower investment. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E3, E4, E5, G, G1, H, H6 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy tools and implementation
Monetary Policy, Trends in Real Interest Rates and Depressed Demand Staff working paper 2021-27 Paul Beaudry, Césaire Meh Over the last few decades, real interest rates have trended downward. The most common explanation is that this reflects depressed demand due to demographic, technological and other real factors. We explore the claim that these trends may have been amplified by certain features of monetary policy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E4, E43, E44, E5, E52, E6, E62, E63, H, H3, H6, H63 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting
Adoption of Digital Technologies: Insights from a Global Survey Initiative Staff discussion paper 2021-7 James Fudurich, Lena Suchanek, Lise Pichette Firms are at the forefront of adopting new technology. Using survey data from a global network of central banks, we assess the effects of digitalization on firms’ pricing and employment decisions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, E, E3, E31, J, J2, J21, O, O3, O33 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity
Secular Economic Changes and Bond Yields Staff working paper 2021-14 Bruno Feunou, Jean-Sébastien Fontaine We investigate the economic forces behind the secular decline in bond yields. Before the anchoring of inflation in the mid-1990s, nominal shocks drove inflation, output and bond yields. Afterward, the impacts of nominal shocks were much less significant. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, G, G1, G12 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting
Can the Business Outlook Survey Help Improve Estimates of the Canadian Output Gap? Staff discussion paper 2020-14 Calista Cheung, Luke Frymire, Lise Pichette We investigate whether questions in the Bank of Canada’s Business Outlook Survey can provide useful signals for the output gap. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E3 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting
The Determinants of Consumers’ Inflation Expectations: Evidence from the US and Canada Staff working paper 2020-52 Charles Bellemare, Rolande Kpekou Tossou, Kevin Moran We compare the determinants of consumer inflation expectations in the US and Canada by analyzing two current surveys. We find that Canadian consumers rely more on professional forecasts and the history of actual inflation when forming their expectations, while US consumers rely more on their own lagged expectations. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, D, D8, D83, D84, E, E3, E31 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission
A Macroeconomic Model of an Epidemic with Silent Transmission and Endogenous Self-isolation Staff working paper 2020-50 Antonio Diez de los Rios We study the interaction between epidemics and economic decisions in a model that has silent transmission of the virus. We find that rational behaviour strongly diminishes the severity of the epidemic but worsens the economic recession. We also find that the detection and isolation of not only symptomatic individuals but also those who are infected and asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic can reduce the severity of the recession caused by the pandemic. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E1, H, H0, I, I1 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
Has the Inflation Process Changed? Selective Review of Recent Research on Inflation Dynamics Staff discussion paper 2020-11 Oleksiy Kryvtsov, James (Jim) C. MacGee From 2011 to 2019, inflation in Canada and advanced economies usually registered below inflation targets, spurring the debate on whether the inflation process has changed. This paper highlights emerging questions that will influence the conduct of monetary policy in Canada in the near term. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission
Short-Run Dynamics in a Search-Theoretic Model of Monetary Exchange Staff working paper 2020-48 Jonathan Chiu, Miguel Molico We study the short-run effects of monetary policy using a search-theoretic monetary model in which agents are subject to idiosyncratic shocks and aggregate monetary shocks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E40, E5, E50 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation
Understanding Trend Inflation Through the Lens of the Goods and Services Sectors Staff working paper 2020-45 Yunjong Eo, Luis Uzeda, Benjamin Wong The goods and services sectors have experienced considerably different dynamics over the past three decades. Our goal in this paper is to understand how such contrasting behaviors at the sectoral level affect the aggregate level of trend inflation dynamics. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C11, C3, C32, E, E3, E31, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission