Chinese Monetary Policy and Text Analytics: Connecting Words and Deeds Staff Working Paper 2021-3 Jeannine Bailliu, Xinfen Han, Barbara Sadaba, Mark Kruger What are the main drivers behind the monetary policy reaction function of the People’s Bank of China? Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, International topics, Monetary policy communications, Monetary policy framework JEL Code(s): C, C6, C63, E, E5, E52, E58
Qualitative Field Research in Monetary Policy Making Staff Discussion Paper 2021-1 Chris D'Souza, Jane Voll Central banks conduct research involving in-depth interviews with external parties—but little is known about how this information affects monetary policy. We address this gap by analyzing open-ended interviews with senior central bank economic and policy staff who work closely with policy decision-makers. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Monetary policy, Monetary policy and uncertainty JEL Code(s): C, C8, C83, E, E3, E37, E5, E52
Using Payments Data to Nowcast Macroeconomic Variables During the Onset of COVID-19 Staff Working Paper 2021-2 James Chapman, Ajit Desai We use retail payment data in conjunction with machine learning techniques to predict the effects of COVID-19 on the Canadian economy in near-real time. Our model yields a significant increase in macroeconomic prediction accuracy over a linear benchmark model. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C5, C53, C55, E, E3, E37, E4, E42, E5, E52
Allocative Efficiency and Aggregate Productivity Growth in Canada and the United States Staff Working Paper 2021-1 Lin Shao, Rongsheng Tang The lack of improvement in allocative efficiency plays a quantitatively important role in the productivity slowdown in the United States and the widening Canada–US productivity gap. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Productivity JEL Code(s): C, C6, C67, D, D4, D5, D57, E, E2, E23
Losing Contact: The Impact of Contactless Payments on Cash Usage Staff Working Paper 2020-56 Marie-Hélène Felt Contactless payment cards are a competitive alternative to cash. Using Canadian panel data from 2010 to 2017, this study investigates whether contactless credit cards are an important contributor to the decline in the transactional use of cash. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods, Financial services JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, D, D1, D12, E, E4, E41
A Reference Guide for the Business Outlook Survey Staff Discussion Paper 2020-15 David Amirault, Naveen Rai, Laurent Martin The Business Outlook Survey (BOS) has become an important part of monetary policy deliberations at the Bank of Canada and is also well known in Canadian policy and financial circles. This paper compiles more than 20 years of experience conducting the BOS and serves as a comprehensive reference manual. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Firm dynamics, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): C, C8, C83, D, D2, D22, E, E3, E32
Strategic Uncertainty in Financial Markets: Evidence from a Consensus Pricing Service Staff Working Paper 2020-55 Lerby Ergun, Andreas Uthemann We look at the informational content of consensus pricing in opaque over-the-counter markets. We show that the availability of price data informs participants mainly about other participants’ valuations, rather than about the value of a financial security. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): C, C5, C58, D, D5, D53, D8, D83, G, G1, G12, G14
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 Topic(s): Central bank research, Econometric and statistical methods, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, D, D8, D83, D84, E, E3, E31
Earnings Dynamics and Intergenerational Transmission of Skill Staff Working Paper 2020-46 Lance Lochner, Youngmin Park How are your past, current and future earnings related to those of your parents? We explore this by using 37 years of Canadian tax data on two generations. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Labour markets, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, J, J2, J24, J6, J62
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 Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Inflation and prices, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): C, C1, C11, C3, C32, E, E3, E31, E5, E52