This paper investigates the effect of private pensions on the retirement wealth distribution. The model incorporates stochastic private pension coverage into a lifecycle model with stochastic earnings. The predictions of the calibrated model are compared to the distribution of retirement net...

Financial innovations are a common explanation of the rise in consumer credit and bankruptcies. To evaluate this story, we develop a simple model that incorporates two key frictions: asymmetric information about borrowers' risk of default and a fixed cost to create each contract offered by...

We construct a unique panel of retail food prices in 69 Canadian and 51 U.S. cities during the Interwar (1920-40) period. Surprisingly, we find that average relative price dispersion across cities within Canada and the U.S., and the role of distance in accounting for cross-city price...

We propose a mechanism via which a decline in the share of young workers slows employment growth in expanding sectors, and exacerbates sectoral reallocation costs. To quantify this mechanism, we develop a search model with perpetual youth, three sectors and endogenous separations of worker-firm...

We show that interbank markets are a poor substitute for ``broad'' banks that operate across regions or sectors. In the presence of regional or sectoral asset and liquidity shocks, interbank markets can distribute liquidity efficiently, but fail to respond efficiently to asset shocks. Broad...

The rise in inflation in 2021-22 sparked a growing literature and debate over the causes of the surge as well as the near- and medium-term path for inflation. This review offers three key messages. First, the exceptional nature of shocks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical...

Financial innovations are a common explanation for the rise in credit card debt and bankruptcies. To evaluate this story, we develop a simple model that incorporates two key frictions: asymmetric information about borrowers' risk of default and a fixed cost of developing each contract lenders...

For most of 2011-19, inflation in Canada and advanced economies registered below inflation targets. This has spurred a debate on whether "lowflation" is a temporary phenomenon or rather a sign of a fundamental change in inflation behaviour-in Canada and globally. So far, we know little. Global...

This paper develops an agent-based modelling approach to quantify the impact of COVID-19-induced economic disruptions on household debt and unplanned savings over 2020. We merge data from the Survey of Financial Security and the Survey of Household Spending to construct a representative...

There is active debate over whether borrowers' cognitive biases create a need for regulation to limit the misuse of credit. To tackle this question, we incorporate overoptimistic borrowers into an incomplete markets model with consumer bankruptcy. Lenders price loans, forming beliefs - type...