Monetary Policy Independence and the Strength of the Global Financial Cycle Staff working paper 2020-25 Christian Friedrich, Pierre Guérin, Danilo Leiva-Leon We propose a new strength measure of the global financial cycle by estimating a regime-switching factor model on cross-border equity flows for 61 countries. We then assess how the strength of the global financial cycle affects monetary policy independence, which is defined as the response of central banks' policy interest rates to exogenous changes in inflation. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E5, F, F3, F32, F4, F42, G, G1, G15, G18 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness
Household indebtedness risks in the wake of COVID‑19 Staff analytical note 2020-8 Olga Bilyk, Anson T. Y. Ho, Mikael Khan, Geneviève Vallée COVID-19 presents challenges for indebted households. We assess these by drawing parallels between pandemics and natural disasters. Taking into account the financial health of the household sector when the pandemic began, we run model simulations to illustrate how payment deferrals and the labour market recovery will affect mortgage defaults. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): C, C2, C21, D, D1, D12, D14, E, E2, E24, E27, E6, E62, G, G2, G21, G28, R, R2 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Household and business credit, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
Canadian Financial Stress and Macroeconomic Conditions Staff discussion paper 2020-4 Thibaut Duprey Severe disruptions in the financial markets, as observed during the 2008 global financial crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic, can impair the stability of the entire financial system and worsen macroeconomic downturns. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C3, C32, E, E4, E44, G, G0, G01 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
How Do Mortgage Rate Resets Affect Consumer Spending and Debt Repayment? Evidence from Canadian Consumers Staff working paper 2020-18 Katya Kartashova, Xiaoqing Zhou We study the causal effect of mortgage rate changes on consumer spending, debt repayment and defaults during an expansionary and a contractionary monetary policy episode in Canada. We find asymmetric responses of consumer durable spending, deleveraging and defaults. These findings help us to understand household sector response to interest rate changes. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, D14, E, E4, E43, E5, E52, G, G2, G21, R, R3, R31 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Household and business credit, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Real economy and forecasting
Identifying Aggregate Shocks with Micro-level Heterogeneity: Financial Shocks and Investment Fluctuation Staff working paper 2020-17 Xing Guo This paper identifies aggregate financial shocks and quantifies their effects on business investment based on an estimated DSGE model with firm-level heterogeneity. On average, financial shocks contribute only 3% of the variation in U.S. public firms’ aggregate investment. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E1, E12, E2, E22, G, G3, G31, G32 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Household and business credit, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting
Endogenous Time Variation in Vector Autoregressions Staff working paper 2020-16 Danilo Leiva-Leon, Luis Uzeda We introduce a new class of time-varying parameter vector autoregressions (TVP-VARs) where the identified structural innovations are allowed to influence — contemporaneously and with a lag — the dynamics of the intercept and autoregressive coefficients in these models. 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, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission
Learning, Equilibrium Trend, Cycle, and Spread in Bond Yields Staff working paper 2020-14 Guihai Zhao This equilibrium model explains the trend in long-term yields and business-cycle movements in short-term yields and yield spreads. The less-frequent inverted yield curves (and less-frequent recessions) after the 1990s are due to recent secular stagnation and procyclical inflation expectations. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, G, G0, G00, G1, G12 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission
Interest Rate Uncertainty as a Policy Tool Staff working paper 2020-13 Fabio Ghironi, Galip Kemal Ozhan We study a novel policy tool—interest rate uncertainty—that can be used to discourage inefficient capital inflows and to adjust the composition of external account between shortterm securities and foreign direct investment (FDI). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, F, F2, F21, F3, F32, G, G1, G15 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness
Multi-Product Pricing: Theory and Evidence from Large Retailers in Israel Staff working paper 2020-12 Marco Bonomo, Carlos Carvalho, Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Sigal Ribon, Rodolfo Rigato Standard theories of price adjustment are based on the problem of a single-product firm, and therefore they may not be well suited to analyze price dynamics in the economy with multiproduct firms. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D2, D21, D22, E, E3, E31, E5, E52, L, L1, L11 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures
The Effect of Oil Price Shocks on Asset Markets: Evidence from Oil Inventory News Staff working paper 2020-8 Ron Alquist, Reinhard Ellwanger, Jianjian Jin We quantify the reaction of U.S. equity, bond futures, and exchange rate returns to oil price shocks driven by oil inventory news. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E44, G, G1, G14, G15, Q, Q4, Q41, Q43 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, International markets and currencies, Market functioning, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures