Showing papers in "Technical reports in 1996"

The Bank of Canada's New Quarterly Projection Model, Part 3. The Dynamic Model: QPM

Abstract: The Bank of Canada's new Quarterly Projection Model, QPM, combines the short-term dynamic properties necessary to support regular economic projections with the consistent behavioural structure necessary for policy analysis.

The Electronic Purse: An Overview of Recent Developments and Policy Issues

Abstract: Futurists have been speculating about the prospects for a cashless society for many years, and such predictions became more frequent following the introduction of "smart" cards - cards containing a computer chip - in the mid-1970s.

Global Analysis of Third-Order Relay Feedback Systems

Abstract: Relays are common in automatic control systems. It is well-known that a linear dynamical system under relay feedback can give complex oscillations. In this paper it is proved that several of these phenomena can actually be captured by third-order systems. It is shown that there exist systems giving arbitrarily fast relay switches similar to sliding modes. A novel method for analyzing linear dynamical systems under relay feedback is also introduced. Trajectories for a class of third order systems are shown to converge in a certain sense.

Excess Volatility and Speculative Bubbles in the Canadian Dollar: Real of Imagined?

Abstract: Greater intervention by the public sector is often proposed as a solution to the increased speculation and excessive price volatility through to characterize today's competitive world financial system. However, before any ambitious policy responses can be contemplated, the question whether asset prices are in fact subject to excess volatility needs to be answered. This paper tries to answer the question by using the Canadian dollar as representative asset and testing for excess volatility and speculative bubbles. In the main, the empirical sections of the paper provide little support for the execess volatility argument and the subsequent need for government intervention

A Framework for Batch Plant Information Models

Abstract: This paper presents a combined control and information model for batch plant information. The model has been applied to a simulated scenario consisting of a multi-purpose multipath batch cell. The goal of the information model is to establish a framework for information systems that supports integrated batch plant operation.

Do Mechanical Filters Provide a Good Approximation of Business Cycles

Abstract: In this paper, the authors examine how weel the Hodrick-Prescott filter (HP) and the band-pass filter recently proposed by Baxter and King (BK) extract the business-cycle component of macroeconomic time series.

The Bank of Canada's New Quarterly Porjection Model Part 4 : A Semi- Structural Method to Estimate Potential Output : Combining Economic Theory with a Time-Series Filter

Abstract: The level of potential output plays a central role in the Bank of Canada's new Quarterly projection Model (QPM). This report, the fourth in a series documenting QPM, descridbes a general method to measure potential output, as well as its implementation in the QPM system.