Central Bank Communications Before, During and After the Crisis: From Open-Market Operations to Open-Mouth Policy Staff Working Paper 2013-41 Ianthi Vayid The days when secrecy and opacity were the bywords of central banking are gone. The advent of inflation targeting in the early 1990s acted as the catalyst for enhanced transparency and communications in the conduct of monetary policy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Credibility, Financial stability, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58
August 16, 2012 Measurement Bias in the Canadian Consumer Price Index: An Update Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2012 Patrick Sabourin The consumer price index (CPI) is the most commonly used measure to track changes in the overall level of prices. Since it departs from a true cost-of-living index, the CPI is subject to four types of measurement bias—commodity substitution, outlet substitution, new goods and quality adjustment. The author updates previous Bank of Canada estimates of measurement bias in the Canadian CPI by examining these four sources of potential bias. He finds the total measurement bias over the 2005–11 period to be about 0.5 percentage point per year, consistent with the Bank’s earlier findings. Slightly more than half of this bias is caused by the fixed nature of the CPI basket of goods and services. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Inflation targets JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52
May 17, 2012 Inflation Targeting: The Recent International Experience Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2012 Robert Lavigne, Rhys R. Mendes, Subrata Sarker In the years since the 2006 renewal of Canada’s inflation-control agreement, monetary policy regimes have faced significant shocks, including the global economic and financial crisis. This article reviews the recent experience with inflation targeting, including the debate about the appropriate role of monetary policy in maintaining financial stability. In the aftermath of the crisis, both […] Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Credibility, Financial stability, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52, E58
August 19, 2010 Monetary Policy and the Zero Bound on Nominal Interest Rates Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2010 Robert Amano, Malik Shukayev The recent financial crisis and global economic slowdown have renewed interest in monetary policy options when the policy interest rate is at or near zero. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework
August 19, 2010 Price-Level Targeting and Relative-Price Shocks Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2010 Stephen Murchison Stephen Murchison reviews the findings of recent Bank of Canada research on the relative merits of inflation targeting and price-level targeting (PLT) for a small open economy, such as Canada's, that is susceptible to large and persistent terms-of-trade shocks. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework
August 19, 2010 Conference Summary: New Frontiers in Monetary Policy Design Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2010 Robert Amano, Kevin Devereux, Rhys R. Mendes Although the current inflation-targeting regime has served Canadians well, sound public policy demands the continuous exploration of possible improvements in the monetary policy framework. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework
Alternative Optimized Monetary Policy Rules in Multi-Sector Small Open Economies: The Role of Real Rigidities Staff Working Paper 2010-9 Carlos De Resende, Ali Dib, Maral Kichian Inflation-targeting central banks around the world often state their inflation objectives with regard to the consumer price index (CPI). Yet the literature on optimal monetary policy based on models with nominal rigidities and more than one sector suggests that CPI inflation is not always the best choice from a social welfare perspective. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Inflation: costs and benefits, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): E, E4, E5, E52, F, F3, F4
March 9, 2010 Inflation Expectations and the Conduct of Monetary Policy: A Review of Recent Evidence and Experience Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2010 Rose Cunningham, Brigitte Desroches, Eric Santor This article explores the role of inflation expectations in the conduct of monetary policy. It reviews the various measures of inflation expectations used by central banks, including surveys and market-based indicators, and considers their advantages and disadvantages. It examines the critical role of inflation expectations in the framework that central banks use to understand, forecast, and control inflation. It also looks at their role as an indicator of central bank credibility. The behaviour of inflation expectations over the past two years is analyzed and policy conclusions are offered. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Inflation targets, Monetary policy implementation
Optimal Monetary Policy during Endogenous Housing-Market Boom-Bust Cycles Staff Working Paper 2009-32 Hajime Tomura This paper uses a small-open economy model for the Canadian economy to examine the optimal Taylor-type monetary policy rule that stabilizes output and inflation in an environment where endogenous boom-bust cycles in house prices can occur. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Financial stability, Inflation targets JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, E5, E52
Heterogeneous Beliefs and Housing-Market Boom-Bust Cycles in a Small Open Economy Staff Working Paper 2009-15 Hajime Tomura This paper introduces heterogeneous beliefs among households in a small open economy model for the Canadian economy. The model suggests that simultaneous boom-bust cycles in house prices, output, investment, consumption and hours worked emerge when credit-constrained mortgage borrowers expect that future house prices will rise and this expectation is neither shared by savers nor realized ex-post. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Financial stability, Inflation targets JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, E5, E52