The credit cycle and the business cycle in Canada and the U.S.: Two solitudes?

Recent events highlight the importance of understanding the relationship between credit availability and real economic activity. This paper estimates macroeconomic models for Canada to investigate the relationship between changes in non-price lending standards, business loans and output. We ask whether macroeconomic and financial market conditions in the U.S. affect Canadian macroeconomic and financial conditions. The answer seems to be less so than previous evidence suggests. Real time data are also found to have a significant impact on the results. The U.S. and Canada may indeed be likened to ‘two solitudes’ insofar as the impact of credit conditions is concerned. Differences in the quality of banking standards and supervision of financial institutions, as well differences in the effectiveness of monetary policies in the two countries may partially explain the results.