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The information technology (IT) revolution has arrived, but how much will it change the world? It has been established that IT is contributing to labor productivity growth through both increases in the levels of IT capital per worker and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the production of IT equipment. The main outstanding issue is whether IT is contributing to TFP growth more generally. Using data on IT expenditure and production for a broad sample of countries, we find a positive, large, and significant effect of IT expenditure on the acceleration in TFP in the late 1990s and a smaller-and significant-effect of IT production. We also find evidence that the impact of IT expenditure on TFP growth increases over time, suggesting that spillovers materialize gradually. Our results suggest that the increase in IT expenditure across industrial countries during 1995-2000 will eventually lead to an average increase in TFP growth of about one-third of 1 percent per year.

Production and Operations Management --- Data Processing --- Technological Change: Choices and Consequences --- Diffusion Processes --- Comparative Studies of Countries --- Production --- Cost --- Capital and Total Factor Productivity --- Capacity --- Employment --- Unemployment --- Wages --- Intergenerational Income Distribution --- Aggregate Human Capital --- Aggregate Labor Productivity --- Human Capital --- Skills --- Occupational Choice --- Labor Productivity --- Macroeconomics: Production --- Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology --- Computer Programs: General --- Macroeconomics --- Data capture & analysis --- Total factor productivity --- Capital productivity --- Labor productivity --- Productivity --- Data processing --- Economic and financial statistics --- Industrial productivity --- Electronic data processing --- United States

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The goal of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of the policy measures taken by Canadian authorities to address the housing boom. We find that the the last three rounds of macroprudential policies implemented since 2010 were associated with lower mortgage credit growth and house price growth. The international experience suggests that—in addition to tighter loan-to-value limits and shorter amortization periods—lower caps on the debt-to-income ratio and higher risk weights could be effective if the housing boom were to reignite. Over the medium term, the authorities could consider structural measures to further improve the soundness of housing finance.

Housing --- Mortgage guarantee insurance --- Affordable housing --- Homes --- Houses --- Housing needs --- Residences --- Slum clearance --- Urban housing --- City planning --- Dwellings --- Human settlements --- Insurance, Mortgage guaranty --- Insurance --- Prices --- Social aspects --- Infrastructure --- Real Estate --- Industries: Financial Services --- Money and Monetary Policy --- Banks --- Depository Institutions --- Micro Finance Institutions --- Mortgages --- Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation --- Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics: Household Analysis: General --- Housing Supply and Markets --- Insurance Companies --- Actuarial Studies --- Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis --- Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit: General --- Finance --- Property & real estate --- Insurance & actuarial studies --- Macroeconomics --- Monetary economics --- Loans --- Housing prices --- Financial institutions --- National accounts --- Credit --- Money --- Saving and investment --- Canada

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This paper explains specifics of stress testing at the IMF. After a brief section on the evolution of stress tests at the IMF, the paper presents the key steps of an IMF staff stress test. They are followed by a discussion on how IMF staff uses stress tests results for policy advice. The paper concludes by identifying remaining challenges to make stress tests more useful for the monitoring of financial stability and an overview of IMF staff work program in that direction. Stress tests help assess the resilience of financial systems in IMF member countries and underpin policy advice to preserve or restore financial stability. This assessment and advice are mainly provided through the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). IMF staff also provide technical assistance in stress testing to many its member countries. An IMF macroprudential stress test is a methodology to assess financial vulnerabilities that can trigger systemic risk and the need of systemwide mitigating measures. The definition of systemic risk as used by the IMF is relevant to understanding the role of its stress tests as tools for financial surveillance and the IMF’s current work program. IMF stress tests primarily apply to depository intermediaries, and, systemically important banks.

Financial crises. --- International Monetary Fund. --- Banking --- Bankruptcy --- Banks and Banking --- Banks and banking --- Banks --- Debt --- Depository Institutions --- Finance --- Finance: General --- Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation --- Financial risk management --- Financial Sector Assessment Program --- Financial sector policy and analysis --- Financial sector stability --- Financial services industry --- General Financial Markets: Government Policy and Regulation --- Liquidation --- Micro Finance Institutions --- Mortgages --- Solvency stress testing --- Solvency --- Stress testing --- Systemic risk --- United States