Supporting the Transition to Net-Zero Emissions: The Evolving Role of Central Banks Staff Discussion Paper 2023-31 Karen McGuinness While climate change was largely tackled by government policies in the past, central banks are increasingly grappling with the risks climate change poses. They are evaluating their operational policies to reflect these risks and the transition to a net-zero economy. This paper explores the trade-offs and considerations central banks face. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Climate change, Financial markets JEL Code(s): D, D5, D53, E, E5, E58, E6, E63, G, G3, G32, Q, Q5, Q54
Central Bank Crisis Interventions: A Review of the Recent Literature on Potential Costs Staff Discussion Paper 2023-30 Patrick Aldridge, David Cimon, Rishi Vala Central banks’ actions to stabilize financial markets and implement monetary policy during crises may come with costs and side effects. We provide a literature review of these costs and discuss measures that may mitigate the negative impacts of crisis actions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Lender of last resort JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, G, G1, G10, G2, G20
How Far Do Canadians Need to Travel to Access Cash? Staff Discussion Paper 2023-28 Heng Chen, Daneal O’Habib, Hongyu Xiao This paper develops a travel-based metric to measure Canadians’ access to cash from automated banking machines (ABMs) and financial institution branches. We find that, overall, access to cash remained stable between 2019 and 2022. The total number of ABMs in Canada increased by 3.7% and the total number of branches decreased by 5.2% during that period. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Financial services, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): G, G2, G21, J, J1, J15, R, R5, R51
Borrow Now, Pay Even Later: A Quantitative Analysis of Student Debt Payment Plans Staff Working Paper 2023-54 Michael Boutros, Nuno Clara, Francisco Gomes We investigate alternative student debt contracts that defer payments and ease the burden of student loans on US households by preserving disposable income early in borrowers’ lives. Our model shows substantial welfare gains from these contracts relative to existing plans and gains similar to the Biden administration's proposals but with a significantly lower cost. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Asset pricing, Economic models, Financial markets, Labour markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): E, E2, G, G5, H, H3
Decentralized finance: Innovations and challenges Staff Analytical Note 2023-15 Jonathan Chiu, Hanna Yu Decentralized finance surged in popularity around 2020. We explore its value and limitations and highlight some potential regulatory concerns. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial stability, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G1, G2
Estimating the Appropriate Quantity of Settlement Balances in a Floor System Staff Discussion Paper 2023-26 Narayan Bulusu, Matthew McNeely, Kaetlynd McRae, Jonathan Witmer This paper presents two complementary approaches to estimating the appropriate quantity of settlement balances needed to effectively operate monetary policy under a floor system in Canada. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Monetary policy implementation, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E52, E58, G, G2, G21, G28
Three things we learned about the Lynx payment system Staff Analytical Note 2023-14 Nikil Chande, Zhentong Lu, Hiru Rodrigo, Phoebe Tian Canada transitioned to a new wholesale payment system, Lynx, in August 2021. Lynx is based on a real-time settlement model that eliminates credit risk in the system. This model can require more liquidity; however, Lynx’s design allows Canada’s wholesale payments to settle efficiently. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial services, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C1, C10, E, E4, E42, G, G2, G28
Intermediary Market Power and Capital Constraints Staff Working Paper 2023-51 Jason Allen, Milena Wittwer We examine how intermediary capitalization affects asset prices in a framework that allows for intermediary market power. We introduce a model in which capital-constrained intermediaries buy or trade an asset in an imperfectly competitive market, and we show that weaker capital constraints lead to both higher prices and intermediary markups. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): D, D4, D40, D44, G, G1, G12, G18, G2, G20, L, L1, L10
Anonymous Credentials: Secret-Free and Quantum-Safe Staff Working Paper 2023-50 Raza Ali Kazmi, Cyrus Minwalla An anonymous credential mechanism is a set of protocols that allows users to obtain credentials from an organization and demonstrate ownership of these credentials without compromising users’ privacy. In this work, we construct the first secret-free and quantum-safe credential mechanism. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, G, G2, G21, O, O3, O31
Forecasting Risks to the Canadian Economic Outlook at a Daily Frequency Staff Discussion Paper 2023-19 Chinara Azizova, Bruno Feunou, James Kyeong This paper quantifies tail risks in the outlooks for Canadian inflation and real GDP growth by estimating their conditional distributions at a daily frequency. We show that the tail risk probabilities derived from the conditional distributions accurately reflect realized outcomes during the sample period from 2002 to 2022. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C3, C32, C5, C58, E, E4, E44, G, G1, G17