How Do Some Lower-Income Canadians Pay Staff analytical paper 2026-6 Jerry Buckland, Christopher Henry, Wendy Nur, Aidan Romanow-Bear, Stephen Wild Previous research suggests that lower-income Canadians may have unique experiences with the use of payments, including the use of cash and digital payments. We conduct a case study using data from [the Canadian Financial Diaries project/Canadian financial diaries] to gain insight into how some lower-income Canadians pay. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E41 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments
The aggregate and heterogeneous effects of responding to shelter inflation Staff analytical paper 2026-5 Michael Irwin, Matías Vieyra This note examines how monetary policy responses to shelter inflation affect both the overall economy and different households. We find that the aggregate macroeconomic effects of responding to shelter inflation are modest, whereas the redistributive consequences across households are substantially larger. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E2, E3, E4, E5, G, G5 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission
AI Paradox: Promise vs. Reality—What It Means for Monetary Policy Staff analytical paper 2026-4 Joshua Brault, Maryam Haghighi, Jing Yang This note reviews the emerging evidence on AI’s labour-market and productivity effects, highlighting early task-level impacts, sizable micro level productivity gains, and the macroeconomic challenges these pose for monetary policy during the transition. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E3, E31, E5, E50, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity
Information, Prices and Buyer Entry Staff working paper 2026-4 Mei Dong, Janet Hua Jiang, Ling Sun In markets with costly buyer entry, information transparency about prices draws in buyers, increasing demand-side competition and putting upward pressure on prices. We show that this buyer entry effect may dominate seller competition as emphasized by conventional wisdom and prices and markups may rise with information transparency. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D4, D40, D8, D83, L, L1, L11 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models
Monetary Policy Under Okun’s Hypothesis Staff working paper 2026-3 Felipe Alves, Giovanni L. Violante The current monetary policy framework of the Fed intends to be more ’inclusive’ by running the economy hot for longer during expansions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E21, E24, E3, E31, E32, E5, E52, J, J2, J24, J6, J64 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission
The Value of Mortgage Choice: Payment Structure and Contract Length Staff working paper 2026-2 Michael Boutros, Nuno Clara, Katya Kartashova We study household mortgage choice in a model with three mortgage contracts that differ in their payment structures: fixed-rate fixed-payment, variable-rate variable-payment, and a hybrid variable-rate fixed-payment mortgage where interest rate changes affect principal repayment rather than payment size. We calibrate the model to match mortgage choice patterns in Canada, where all these options are offered with short terms. We demonstrate that restricting contract choice or mandating long terms, as in the U.S. system, can lead to substantial welfare losses by limiting risk management strategies and increasing mortgage pricing ex-ante. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Household and business credit