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Markups in Canada: Have They Changed and Why?

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  • Danny Leung

Abstract

Many empirical studies have examined the cyclical nature of the markup ratio. Until recently, few have attempted to ascertain the changes in the markup over a longer time horizon. These changes are of no less interest in view of the posited effects of increasing import competition and lower inflation on the markup. This paper offers evidence on the evolution of the markups for the Canadian business sector and 33 disaggregate industries over the 1961–2004 period. It is found that the business sector markup has declined since the mid-1980s, and that import competition has made a statistically significant but small contribution to this decline.

Suggested Citation

  • Danny Leung, 2008. "Markups in Canada: Have They Changed and Why?," Staff Working Papers 08-7, Bank of Canada.
    • Handle: RePEc:bca:bocawp:08-7
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    Cited by:

    1. Bailliu, Jeannine & Meh, Cesaire & Zhang, Yahong, 2015. "Macroprudential rules and monetary policy when financial frictions matter," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 148-161.
    2. Khan, Hashmat & Kim, Bae-Geun, 2013. "Markups and oil prices in Canada," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 799-813.
    3. Danny Leung & Yi Zheng, 2012. "What affects MFP in the long-run? Evidence from Canadian industries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(6), pages 727-738, February.
    4. J. Stephen Ferris, 2012. "The Relationship Between Government Size and Economic Performance with Particular Application to New Zealand," Carleton Economic Papers 12-06, Carleton University, Department of Economics, revised 25 Apr 2013.
    5. Hashmat Khan & Bae-Geun Kim, 2011. "The Effects of Permanent Markup Shocks in Canada – revised version: Markups and Oil Prices in Canada (12 October 2012)," Carleton Economic Papers 11-06, Carleton University, Department of Economics, revised 12 Oct 2012.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Econometric and statistical methods;

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

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