Price-Level Targeting and Stabilization Policy: A Review Staff Discussion Paper 2007-11 Steve Ambler The author surveys recent articles on the costs and benefits of price-level targeting versus inflation targeting, focusing on the benefits and costs of price-level targeting as a tool for stabilization policy. He reviews papers that examine how price-level targeting affects the short-run trade-off between output and inflation variability by influencing expectations of future inflation. The […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E32, E5, E52
Price-Level Targeting Staff Discussion Paper 2007-8 Agathe Côté In November 2006, the Bank of Canada announced its intention to lead a concerted research program over the next few years on the type of monetary policy framework that would best contribute to the economic well-being of Canadians in the decades ahead. The research will focus on two broad questions: whether economic welfare might be […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58
Should Central Banks Adjust Their Target Horizons in Response to House-Price Bubbles? Staff Discussion Paper 2007-4 Meenakshi Basant Roi, Rhys R. Mendes The authors investigate the implications of house-price bubbles for the optimal inflation-target horizon using a dynamic general-equilibrium model with credit frictions, house-price bubbles, and small open-economy features. They find that, given the distribution of shocks and inflation persistence over the past 25 years, the optimal target horizon for Canada tends to be at the lower […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Credit and credit aggregates, Economic models, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E44, E5, E52, E58, E6, E61
The Zero Bound on Nominal Interest Rates: Implications for the Optimal Monetary Policy in Canada Staff Discussion Paper 2007-1 Claude Lavoie, Hope Pioro The authors assess the performance of the Canadian economy under a variety of interest rate rules when the zero bound on nominal interest rates can bind. Their assessment is based on numerical simulations of a dynamic stochastic general-equilibrium model in a stochastic environment. Consistent with the literature, the authors find that the probability and consequences […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Inflation: costs and benefits, Interest rates, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, E47, E5, E52
Central Bank Performance under Inflation Targeting Staff Working Paper 2007-18 Marc-André Gosselin The inflation targeting (IT) regime is 17 years old. With practice of IT now in more than 21 countries, there is enough evidence gathered to take stock of the IT experience. In this paper, we analyze the inflation record of IT central banks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52, E58
An Optimized Monetary Policy Rule for ToTEM Staff Working Paper 2006-41 Jean-Philippe Cayen, Amy Corbett, Patrick Perrier The authors propose a monetary policy rule for the Terms-of-Trade Economic Model (ToTEM), the Bank of Canada's new projection and policy-analysis model for the Canadian economy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52
Short-Run and Long-Run Causality between Monetary Policy Variables and Stock Prices Staff Working Paper 2006-39 Jean-Marie Dufour, David Tessier The authors examine simultaneously the causal links connecting monetary policy variables, real activity, and stock returns. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Monetary and financial indicators JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C15, C3, C32, C5, C51, C53, E, E5, E52
The Welfare Implications of Inflation versus Price-Level Targeting in a Two-Sector, Small Open Economy Staff Working Paper 2006-12 Eva Ortega, Nooman Rebei The authors analyze the welfare implications of simple monetary policy rules in the context of an estimated model of a small open economy for Canada with traded and non-traded goods, and with sticky prices and wages. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Exchange rates, Inflation targets JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E32, E5, E52
The Federal Reserve's Dual Mandate: A Time-Varying Monetary Policy Priority Index for the United States Staff Working Paper 2006-11 René Lalonde, Nicolas Parent In the United States, the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of promoting stable inflation and maximum employment. Since the Fed directly controls only one instrument - the federal funds rate - the authors argue that the Fed's priorities continuously alternate between inflation and economic activity. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): C, C2, C22, C5, C52, E, E5, E52
The 1975–78 Anti-Inflation Program in Retrospect Staff Working Paper 2005-43 John Sargent The author provides an overview of the 1975–78 Anti-Inflation Program (AIP), in a background document prepared for a seminar organized by the Bank of Canada to mark the AIP's 30th anniversary. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Credibility, Fiscal policy, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52, E6, E63, E64, E65