This paper examines the implications of changes in economic behaviour for simple inflation-forecast–based monetary rules of the type currently used at two inflation-targeting central banks. Three types of changes in economic behaviour are considered, changes that are motivated by developments...

Recent empirical studies examining the asymmetric effects of monetary shocks on economic activity do not systematically control for the non-monetary sources of fluctuations as well as the endogenous component of monetary policy. The evidence of asymmetry could simply reflect the failure to...

In this second contribution to the Symposium included in this volume on Future Productivity in Canada, Tiff Macklem of the Bank of Canada compares sources of recent productivity growth in Canada and the United States. Macklem sees aggregate labour productivity growth in Canada advancing at...

In this comment on Fortin (1996), the authors argue that the sluggishness in economic activity in Canada in the 1990s is better explained by a combination of factors than by monetary policy alone. They find that: (1) it is difficult to explain the sluggishness on the basis of the historical...

This paper examines the macroeconomic implications of rising government debt in Canada and the short-run costs and long-run benefits of stemming the rise. The discussion begins with an evaluation of the long-run consequences of increasing government indebtedness, first based on the simple...