This paper first describes the Bank of Canada’s approach to the design of large-value clearing and settlement systems. It then examines the way the Bank has operated under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act, passed by Parliament in July 1996. Through this act, the Bank was assigned...

This paper examines the major changes in the Canadian banking system since the Second World War, with special attention paid to the differences between Canadian and US developments over this period. An important difference between the countries is the nationwide branch banking arrangements in...

The financial service industry has been undergoing significant change in recent years. This paper analyzes some key developments affecting the industry and examines some important issues facing the industry and its regulators. Changes discussed include the way services are provided, the...

Faced with an ageing population, governments are shifting the financial responsibility for retirement to their citizens. Employers, too, are shifting this responsibility to employees, with most now offering defined-contribution retirement plans. Yet it is widely acknowledged that consumers do...

It is common for comparisons to be made of output growth and inflation across groups of countries, yet such comparisons can result in inconsistencies. We address two problems: (i) how to measure aggregate real output and inflation for groups of countries and (ii) how to construct measures of...

This paper constructs a quantitative general equilibrium lifecycle model with uninsurable labor income to account for the differences in the pattern of wealth accumulation across two countries, Korea and the United States. The model incorporates the differences in the housing market institution...

We consider the impact of the recent trend in immigration policies towards selecting migrants on the basis of skills. The analysis uses an inter-temporal general equilibrium model with endogenous skill formation. The model is calibrated to a steady state benchmark that represents Australia in...