Lawrence Schembri

Deputy Governor

Lawrence Schembri was appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada in 2013, serving as one of two deputy governors responsible for overseeing the Bank’s analysis and activities to promote a stable and efficient financial system. In 2016, he became responsible for overseeing the Bank’s analysis of domestic economic developments. As a member of the Bank’s Governing Council, he shares responsibility for decisions with respect to monetary policy and financial system stability, and for setting the strategic direction of the Bank.

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Mr. Schembri received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto in 1979, an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1980, and a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985. After completing his PhD, Mr. Schembri was an assistant professor and, later, associate professor of economics at Carleton University until 2001.

Mr. Schembri joined the Bank in 1997 as a visiting Research Advisor in what is now the International Economic Analysis Department. In 2001, he was appointed Research Director in the same department and became Chief of the department in 2005. In 2010, he was appointed Advisor to the Governor, with responsibilities for financial stability analysis and coordinating the Bank’s contribution to the Financial Stability Board. His published research has focused on exchange rate and monetary theory and policy in open economies, the international monetary system and financial stability.

Biographical Note: Lawrence L. Schembri

Contact

Lawrence Schembri

Deputy Governor
Executive

Bank of Canada
234 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0G9

Latest

May 16, 2018 The (Mostly) Long and Short of Potential Output

Remarks Lawrence Schembri Ottawa Economics Association and CFA Society Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario
Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri discusses the importance of potential output to monetary policy, as well as policy challenges and opportunities in a world of low potential output growth.
Content Type(s): Press, Speeches Topic(s): Inflation targets, Interest rates, Labour markets, Monetary Policy, Monetary policy framework, Potential output, Productivity

February 15, 2018 Anchoring Expectations: Canada’s Approach to Price Stability

Remarks Lawrence Schembri Manitoba Association for Business Economists Winnipeg, Manitoba
Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri examines the success of the Bank’s monetary policy framework and explains the review being undertaken before its renewal in 2021.
Content Type(s): Press, Speeches Topic(s): Central bank research, Credibility, Fiscal Policy, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Monetary policy framework

September 14, 2017 Bank of Canada Workshop “Monetary Policy Framework Issues: Toward the 2021 Inflation-Target Renewal”

Remarks Lawrence Schembri Ottawa, Ontario
Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri opens the Bank’s Monetary Policy Framework Issues: Toward the 2021 Inflation-Target Renewal workshop.
Content Type(s): Press, Speeches Topic(s): Central bank research, Credibility, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, International topics, Monetary policy framework

March 21, 2017 Getting Down to Business: Investment and the Economic Outlook

Remarks Lawrence Schembri Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Vancouver, British Columbia
Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri discusses the factors affecting business investment and the implications for the economic outlook.
Content Type(s): Press, Speeches Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Domestic demand and components, Inflation and prices, Monetary Policy, Recent economic and financial developments, Uncertainty and monetary policy

February 9, 2017 Getting to the Core of Inflation

Remarks Lawrence Schembri Department of Economics, Western University London, Ontario
Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri discusses the uses and measures of core inflation in the conduct of monetary policy.
Content Type(s): Press, Speeches Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Central bank research, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, Monetary Policy, Recent economic and financial developments

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Refereed journals

  • "Current Account Dynamics, Real Exchange Rate Adjustment and the Exchange Rate Regime in Emerging-Market Economies"
    (with Olivier Gervais and Lena Suchanek), Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 119, March 2016, p. 86-89.
  • "Building an Open, Integrated, and Resilient Global Financial System: The Road to Brisbane and Beyond"
    Canadian Public Policy, 2014, 40(4): p. 408-412.
  • "Housing Finance in Canada: Looking Back to Move Forward"
    National Institute Economic Review, 2014, 230: p. R45-R57.
  • "Productivity, Commodity Prices and the Real Exchange Rate: The Long-Run Behavior of the Canada-US Exchange Rate"
    (with Ehsan Choudhri), International Review of Economics and Finance, 2014, 29: p. 537-551.
  • “Multilateral adjustment, regime switching and real exchange rate dynamics”
    (with Ali Dib, Takashi Kano and Jeannine Bailliu) North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Vol. 27, January 2014, pages 68-87.
  • "Productivity, the Terms of Trade, and the Real Exchange Rate: The Balassa-Samuelson Hypothesis Revisited"
    (with Ehsan Choudhri), Review of International Economics, 2010, 18 (5) p.924-36
  • "Canada's Pioneering Experience with a Flexible Exchange Rate in the 1950s: (Hard) Lessons Learned for Monetary Policy in a Small Open Economy"
    (with Michael Bordo and Ali Dib), International Journal of Central Banking, 2010, 6 (3): p.51-99
  • "Canada and the IMF: Trailblazer or Prodigal Son?"
    (with Michael Bordo and Tamara Gomes), Open Economies Review, 2010, 21(2): p.309-33
  • "Exchange Rate Policy in Canada: Lessons from the Past: Implications for the Future"
    Current Politics and Economics of Europe, 2006, 17 (1): p.99-126 (Reprinted in A. Verdun (ed.) Britain and Canada and their Large Neighbouring Monetary Unions (Nova, 2006) p.77-98)
  • "Revisiting the Case for Flexible Exchange Rates in North America"
    (with John Murray and Pierre St-Amant), North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 2003, 14: p.207-240. (Reprinted in L. Michelis and M. Lovewell (eds) Exchange Rates, Economic Integration and the International Economy (APF Press, 2004), p.77-113).
  • "A Tale of Two Dollars: The Future of Canada's Currency"
    (with Robert Lafrance) Management Internationale, 2003, 8: p.53-64.
  • "Productivity Performance and International Competitiveness: An Old Test Reconsidered"
    (with Ehsan Choudhri) Canadian Journal of Economics, 2002, 35(2): p.341-62.
  • "Living Around the Bloc: Lessons from Canada for Small Countries"
    Journal of Public Policy, 2002, 22(2): p.119-142.
  • "The Real Effects of Collapsing Exchange Rate Regimes: An Application to Mexico,"
    (with Patrick Osakwe), Journal of International Economics, 2002, 57(2): p.299-325.
  • "Trade Liberalization and Sectoral Productivity Growth: Some Evidence for Canada and the United States,"
    (with Richard Brecher and Ehsan Choudhri) Journal of International Economics, 1996, 40: p.299-321.
  • "The Role of Canadian Banks in 19th Century U.S. Banking Crises,"
    (with Jennifer Hawkins) Business History, 1992, 34(3): p.122-52.
  • "The Construction of Establishment-Level Capital Stock Series,"
    (with Eugene Beaulieu), Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, 1990, 16: p.55-70.
  • "Atheoretical and Structural Approaches to Modelling Canadian-American Macroeconomic Interaction,"
    (with David Johnson) Empirical Economics, 1990, 15(4): p.367-82.
  • "Macroeconomic stability and policy rules in a two sector model of an open economy,"
    Canadian Journal of Economics, 1988, 21(1): p.87-96.

Books

  • "The Future of the IMS: The New ‘Holy Trinity’ of External, Monetary, and Financial Stability"
    (with Eric Santor) in M Uzan (ed.), Bretton Woods: The Next 70 Years (Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, 2015) p. 335-342.
  • "A Tale of Two Countries and Two Booms – Canada and the United States in the 1920s and the 2000s: The Roles of Monetary and Financial Stability Policies"
    (with Ehsan Choudhri) in O. Humpage (ed.), Current Federal Reserve Policy Under the Lens of Economic History: Essays to Commemorate the Federal Reserve System's Centennial, (Cambridge, 2015) p. 267-295.
  • "Success Under Pressure: The Bank of Canada and the Global Financial Crisis – Actions and Lessons"
    (with Eric Santor), in R. Medhora and D. Rowlands (eds.), Crisis and Reform: Canada and the International Financial System (Centre for International Governance Innovation, 2014) p.103-118.
  • A discussion of « Terms of Trade Shocks and Fiscal Cycles »
    by Graciela Kaminsky (in R. Fry, C. Jones and C. Kent (eds.) Inflation in an Era of Relative Price Shocks (Reserve Bank of Australia, 2010) p.251-257
  • "The Case for Financial Liberalization"
    (with Eric Santor) in H. Bougrine and M. Seccareccia, (eds.), Introducing Macroeconomic Analysis: Issues, Questions, and Competing Views (Emond Montgomery Publications, 2010) p.271-282
  • "Macroeconomic Stability and Economic Resilience in Small States: The Role of Macroeconomic Policies"
    in L. Briguglio, G. Cordina, N. Farrugia and C. Vigilance (eds.) Small States and the Pillars of Economic Resilience (University of Malta and Commonwealth Secretariat, 2008), p. 37-58.
  • A discussion of « Monetary Policy in East Asia: Common Concerns »
    by Marvin Goodfriend, in Growth, Integration, and Monetary Policy in East Asia, (Bank of Japan, 2007), p. 226-232.
  • "External Adjustment and Debt Sustainability"
    (with Douglas Hostland) in R. Driver, P. Sinclair and C. Thoenissen (eds.), Exchanges Rates, Capital Flows and Policy, (Routledge, 2005) p. 261-300.
  • "Productivity and Trade in North America: A Sectoral Analysis"
    (with Mykyta Vesselovsky) in R. Harris (ed.), North American Linkages: Opportunities and Challenges for Canada, (Industry Canada & University of Calgary Press, 2004), p.89-116.
  • "International Financial Architecture Reform: Just Tinkering Around the Edges"
    (with Malcolm Knight and James Powell) in C. L. Gilbert, J. Rollo and D. Vines (eds.), The IMF and Its Critics: Reforming of the Global Financial Architecture, (Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 124-157.
  • "Measuring the Barriers to Trade in Services: Literature and Methodologies"
    (with Zhiqi Chen) in J. Curtis and D Ciuriak (eds.) Trade Policy Research 2002, (Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, 2002).
  • "Productivity Growth and International Competitiveness: The Experience of Canada and Implications for India,"
    (with Ehsan Choudhri) in Trade, Innovation and Industrial Performance. (Conference Board of Canada, 1997) p. 21-28.
  • "Canadian Exports of Business and Education Services to the Asia-Pacific region,"
    in R. Harris (ed.), The Asia-Pacific Region in the Global Economy: A Canadian Perspective. (University of Calgary Press, 1996) p. 165-196.
  • "Canada and International Trade: Policies for the 1990s,"
    in F. Hampson and C. Maule (eds.), Canada Among Nations: 1990-1991 (Lorimer Press, 1991) p. 41-64.
  • "Exchange Rates and Export Prices: An Industry Approach,"
    in R. Feenstra (ed.), Trade Policy and International Competitiveness (University of Chicago Press, 1989) p. 185-210.
  • A discussion of "Per-Capita Income as a Basis for Trade,"
    by Linda Hunter and James Markusen, in R. Feenstra (ed.), Empirical Methods in International Trade, (MIT Press, 1988) p. 110-113.
  • "Industrial Adjustment in Canada: Causes and Effects,"
    (with Jeffrey Bernstein) in B. Tomlin and M. Molot (eds.), Canada Among Nations: 1986-1987 (Lorimer Press, 1987) p. 87-105.

Publications from Working Groups

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Speeches

Bank Publications

Webcasts

Education

  • Ph.D., M.I.T. (1985)
  • M.Sc., London School of Economics (1980)
  • B.Com., University of Toronto (1979)

Research Interests

  • financial stability
  • monetary policy
  • international economics

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