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Description:

A summary of methodological treatments as applied to the June 2020 CPI in response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on price collection, price availability, and business closure.

Description:

A summary of methodological treatments as applied to the May 2020 CPI in response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on price collection, price availability, and business closures.

Description:

Canada is a trading nation that produces significant quantities of resource outputs. Consequently, the behaviour of resource prices that are important for Canada is germane to understanding the progress of real income growth and the prosperity of the country and the provinces. Demand and supply shocks or changes in monetary policy in international markets may exert significant influence on resource prices, and their fluctuations constitute an important avenue for the transmission of external shocks into the domestic economy. This paper develops historical estimates of the Bank of Canada commodity price index (BCPI) and links them to modern estimates. Using a collection of historical data sources, it estimates weights and prices sufficiently consistently to merit the construction of long-run estimates that may be linked to the modern Fisher BCPI.

Description:

Canadian international merchandise trade data are released monthly and may be revised in subsequent releases as new information becomes available. These data are released approximately 35 days following the close of the reference period and represent one of the timeliest economic indicators produced by Statistics Canada. Given their timeliness, some of the data are not received in time and need to be estimated or modelled. This is the case for imports and exports of crude petroleum and natural gas. More specifically, at the time of release, energy trade data are based on an incomplete set of information and are revised as Statistics Canada and National Energy Board information becomes available in the subsequent months. Due to the increasing importance of energy imports and exports and the timeliness of the data, the revisions to energy prices and volumes are having an increasingly significant impact on the monthly revision to Canada’s trade balance. This note explains how the estimates in the initial release are made when data sources are not yet available, and how the original data are adjusted in subsequent releases.

Description:

Statistics Canada produces monthly import and export merchandise trade price indexes. For the majority of these prices, Statistics Canada uses a variety of proxy measures to derive the price index in lieu of collecting observed import and export prices. The ability of these proxy measures to reflect international trade price movements during times of exchange rate volatility is limited. For this reason, the constant dollar trade estimates derived using these proxy price indexes have been refined with constant dollar adjustments following the appreciation of the Canadian exchange rate beginning at the end of 2002. This paper explains the rational and methodology behind these adjustments, as well as the impact on published trade and GDP estimates.

Description:

To model economic depreciation, a database is used that contains information on assets discarded by companies. The acquisition and resale prices are known along with the length of use of these assets. However, the assets for which prices are known are only those that were involved in a transaction. While an asset depreciates on a continuous basis during its service life, the value of the asset is only known when there has been a transaction. This article proposes an ex post weighting to offset the effect of source of error in building econometric models.

Description: In the 1997 edition, new and revised benchmarks were introduced for 1992 and 1988. The indicators are used to monitor supply, demand and employment for tourism in Canada on a timely basis. The annual tables are derived using the National Income and Expenditure Accounts (NIEA) and various industry and travel surveys. Tables providing actual data and percentage changes, for seasonally adjusted current and constant price estimates are included. In addition, an analytical section provides graphs, and time series of first differences, percentage changes, and seasonal factors for selected indicators. Data are published from 1987 and the publication will be available on the day of release. New data are included in the demand tables for non-tourism commodities produced by non-tourism industries and in the employment tables covering direct tourism employment generated by non-tourism industries. This product was commissioned by the Canadian Tourism Commission to provide annual updates for the Tourism Satellite Account.

Description:

The U.S. Census Bureau publishes estimates of medians for several characteristics of new houses, with a key estimate being sales price of sold houses. These estimates are calculated from data acquired from interviews of home builders by the Survey of Construction (SOC). The SOC is a multi-stage probability survey whose sample design is well suited to the modified half-sample replication (MHS) method of variance estimation.

Description:

Electricity rates that vary by time-of-day have the potential to significantly increase economic efficiency in the energy market. A number of utilities have undertaken economic studies of time-of-use rates schemes for their residential customers. This paper uses meta-analysis to examine the impact of time-of-use rates on electricity demand pooling the results of thirty-eight separate programs. There are four key findings. First, very large peak to off-peak price ratios are needed to significantly affect peak demand. Second, summer peak rates are relatively effective compared to winter peak rates. Third, permanent time-or-use rates are relatively effective compared to experimental ones. Fourth, demand charges rival ordinary time-of-use rates in terms of impact.

Description: In the 1997 edition, new and revised benchmarks were introduced for 1992 and 1988. The indicators are used to monitor supply, demand and employment for tourism in Canada on a timely basis. The annual tables are derived using the National Income and Expenditure Accounts (NIEA) and various industry and travel surveys. Tables providing actual data and percentage changes, for seasonally adjusted current and constant price estimates are included. In addition, an analytical section provides graphs, and time series of first differences, percentage changes, and seasonal factors for selected indicators. Data are published from 1987 and the publication will be available on the day of release. New data are included in the demand tables for non-tourism commodities produced by non-tourism industries and in the employment tables covering direct tourism employment generated by non-tourism industries. This product was commissioned by the Canadian Tourism Commission to provide annual updates for the Tourism Satellite Account.

Description:

A summary of methodological treatments as applied to the June 2020 CPI in response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on price collection, price availability, and business closure.

Description:

A summary of methodological treatments as applied to the May 2020 CPI in response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on price collection, price availability, and business closures.

Description:

Canada is a trading nation that produces significant quantities of resource outputs. Consequently, the behaviour of resource prices that are important for Canada is germane to understanding the progress of real income growth and the prosperity of the country and the provinces. Demand and supply shocks or changes in monetary policy in international markets may exert significant influence on resource prices, and their fluctuations constitute an important avenue for the transmission of external shocks into the domestic economy. This paper develops historical estimates of the Bank of Canada commodity price index (BCPI) and links them to modern estimates. Using a collection of historical data sources, it estimates weights and prices sufficiently consistently to merit the construction of long-run estimates that may be linked to the modern Fisher BCPI.

Description:

To model economic depreciation, a database is used that contains information on assets discarded by companies. The acquisition and resale prices are known along with the length of use of these assets. However, the assets for which prices are known are only those that were involved in a transaction. While an asset depreciates on a continuous basis during its service life, the value of the asset is only known when there has been a transaction. This article proposes an ex post weighting to offset the effect of source of error in building econometric models.

Description:

The U.S. Census Bureau publishes estimates of medians for several characteristics of new houses, with a key estimate being sales price of sold houses. These estimates are calculated from data acquired from interviews of home builders by the Survey of Construction (SOC). The SOC is a multi-stage probability survey whose sample design is well suited to the modified half-sample replication (MHS) method of variance estimation.

Description:

Canadian international merchandise trade data are released monthly and may be revised in subsequent releases as new information becomes available. These data are released approximately 35 days following the close of the reference period and represent one of the timeliest economic indicators produced by Statistics Canada. Given their timeliness, some of the data are not received in time and need to be estimated or modelled. This is the case for imports and exports of crude petroleum and natural gas. More specifically, at the time of release, energy trade data are based on an incomplete set of information and are revised as Statistics Canada and National Energy Board information becomes available in the subsequent months. Due to the increasing importance of energy imports and exports and the timeliness of the data, the revisions to energy prices and volumes are having an increasingly significant impact on the monthly revision to Canada’s trade balance. This note explains how the estimates in the initial release are made when data sources are not yet available, and how the original data are adjusted in subsequent releases.

Description:

Statistics Canada produces monthly import and export merchandise trade price indexes. For the majority of these prices, Statistics Canada uses a variety of proxy measures to derive the price index in lieu of collecting observed import and export prices. The ability of these proxy measures to reflect international trade price movements during times of exchange rate volatility is limited. For this reason, the constant dollar trade estimates derived using these proxy price indexes have been refined with constant dollar adjustments following the appreciation of the Canadian exchange rate beginning at the end of 2002. This paper explains the rational and methodology behind these adjustments, as well as the impact on published trade and GDP estimates.

Description:

Electricity rates that vary by time-of-day have the potential to significantly increase economic efficiency in the energy market. A number of utilities have undertaken economic studies of time-of-use rates schemes for their residential customers. This paper uses meta-analysis to examine the impact of time-of-use rates on electricity demand pooling the results of thirty-eight separate programs. There are four key findings. First, very large peak to off-peak price ratios are needed to significantly affect peak demand. Second, summer peak rates are relatively effective compared to winter peak rates. Third, permanent time-or-use rates are relatively effective compared to experimental ones. Fourth, demand charges rival ordinary time-of-use rates in terms of impact.