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8939 Results

January 29, 2000

Annual Report 1999

The Canadian economy regained strong momentum in 1999 as the U.S. economy remained vigorous, the global economy recovered, and commodity prices moved upwards.
Content Type(s): Publications, Annual Report
January 27, 2000

Bank of Canada Governor speaks to the Metropolitan Halifax Chamber of Commerce

There has been a dramatic move among major central banks over the past decade towards greater transparency in monetary policy, Bank of Canada Governor Gordon Thiessen told the Metropolitan Halifax Chamber of Commerce in a speech today. This process has been driven not only by the general trend to greater accountability on the part of […]
Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
January 27, 2000

Accountability and Transparency in Canada's Monetary Policy

Remarks Gordon Thiessen Metropolitan Halifax Chamber of Commerce Halifax, Nova Scotia
Public sector institutions have been undergoing significant changes over the past decade. One of the most important changes has been the move to greater accountability. Public institutions are now required to be more open and to provide more information about their operations. Or, to use the word currently in vogue, to be more “transparent.”

GAUSS™ Programs for the Estimation of State-Space Models with ARCH Errors: A User's Guide

Staff Working Paper 2000-2 Maral Kichian
State-space models have long been popular in explaining the evolution of various economic variables. This is mainly because they generally have more economic content than do others in their class of parsimonious models (for example, VARs). Yet, in spite of their advantages, use of these models until recently was limited by the assumption that all […]
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C3, C32, C8, C82, C87, C89

The Employment Costs of Downward Nominal-Wage Rigidity

Staff Working Paper 2000-1 Jean Farès, Seamus Hogan
In this paper, we use firm-level wage and employment data to address whether there is evidence of downward nominal-wage rigidity, and whether that rigidity is associated with a reduction in employment. We describe an estimation bias that can result when estimating reduced-form wage and employment equations and suggest a way of controlling for that bias. […]
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Labour markets JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, J, J2, J23, J3, J31
December 16, 1999

Economic and Financial Developments to 16 February 2000: An Update to the Monetary Policy Report

Highlights * The pace of economic activity in the United States remains strong, exceeding earlier expectations. * With the stronger momentum of external demand, the Bank now expects Canada's real GDP growth in 2000 to be in the upper half of the 2.75 to 3.75 per cent range projected in the last Monetary Policy Report. * Core inflation was below expectations in November, partly because of price discounting on certain semi-durables. * The Bank expects core inflation to increase to 2 per cent in the first quarter of 2000. * Because of higher energy prices, the rate of increase in total CPI is expected to rise to close to 3 per cent early in the year. * Developments during the last three months underscore the risks to Canada's economic outlook highlighted in the last Report : stronger momentum of demand for Canadian output from both domestic and external sources and potential inflationary pressures in the United States. Information received since 14 January, when the update to our November Monetary Policy Report was completed, continues to point to a strengthening outlook for the world economy and for Canada. In the United States, real GDP again exceeded expectations—rising at an annual rate of 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter. While some price and cost pressures are evident in the United States, strong productivity growth has thus far held unit labour costs down. Because of the rapid expansion of demand above the growth of potential capacity, however, and the associated inflation risks, the Federal Reserve increased its federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 5.75 per cent on 2 February. Although trend inflation remains low in the industrial countries, a number of other major central banks have also raised their policy rates in the last couple of weeks because of concern about future inflation pressures, given strengthening demand. The buoyancy of external demand, particularly that coming from the United States, continues to show in our latest merchandise trade numbers. Export growth in November remained strong, with the overall trade balance in large surplus. World prices for our key primary commodities also continue to firm in response to rising global demand. On the domestic side, the latest information on demand and production points to continued robustness. Real GDP (at factor cost) rose 0.6 per cent (4.6 per cent year-over-year) in November, and employment continued to grow strongly through year-end and into January. Other indicators, including the latest data on the monetary aggregates, support this strong economic picture. The Bank now expects real GDP growth in 2000 to be near the top of the 2.75 to 3.75 per cent range projected in November. Our core measure of inflation was 1.6 per cent (year-over-year) in December, slightly below expectations, partly because of temporary discounts on certain items. Core inflation is still expected to move up to the midpoint of the Bank's 1 to 3 per cent target range in the first quarter. Over the same period, the total CPI will likely rise to close to 3 per cent because of the recent sharp step-up in energy prices but is still expected to come down towards the core rate during the course of 2000 as energy prices moderate. The Bank of Canada raised its Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent on 3 February. The factors behind this decision included the strong momentum of demand in Canada from both external and domestic sources, the importance of approaching full capacity in a prudent way, and the risk of a spillover of potential inflation pressures from the United States.
December 15, 1999

The Exchange Rate, Productivity, and the Standard of Living

This article examines the recent proposition that the decline in Canada's standard of living relative to that of the United States is causally related to the decline in our exchange rate. The authors explore the main channels through which the exchange rate and the standard of living could be related—productivity and the terms of trade—focusing mainly on productivity. They conclude that the decline in world commodity prices and weak demand for domestic output were affecting both Canada's standard of living and the exchange rate and that the flexible exchange rate regime itself did not play an independent role.
December 14, 1999

Trends in Canada's Merchandise Trade

The author examines aspects of Canada's trade performance in light of the major trends seen in world trade over the past several decades. Canada has become more integrated with the world economy, and this openness is evident from its greater export orientation, its heavier reliance on imported inputs, and more exposure to foreign competition in its domestic markets. The author analyzes the composition of Canadian trade and the trend towards increasing two-way trade in similar products. He also looks at the increasing integration of trade within regions, which for Canada has meant a greater concentration of exports with the United States.
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