I’ve written a report for the Institute for Research on Public Policy about social assistance—specifically, about social assistance for employable single adults without dependants. A ‘top 10’ overview of the report can be found here.
Continue readingTag: history of economic thought
The Progressive Economics Forum: Why Keynes was a socialist
In an important new book Keynes Against Capitalism: His Economic Case for Liberal Socialism (Routledge, 2019) James Crotty argues that Keynes was a socialist who advocated a much more radical economic agenda than most mainstream economists and political analysts realize. Based on a very close reading of Keynes’ work, Crotty
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Value Creation vs Value Extraction in Today’s Economy
Book Review Mariana Mazzucato. The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy. Allen Lane. 2018. The playwright Oscar Wilde quipped that a cynic is a person who “knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” As Mariana Mazzucato argues in her important and stimulating new
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The introduction and evolution of child benefits in Canada
Allan Moscovitch and I have co-authored a blog post that looks at the history of child benefits in Canada. Points made in the blog post include the following: -Child benefits can reduce both poverty and homelessness. -When child benefits began in Canada after World War II, one major motivating factor
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Reflections on the Social Democratic Tradition
The Broadbent Institute and Douglas-Coldwell Foundation have just published a paper of mine as part of a larger project on social democratic renewal, The paper is mainly retrospective, and touches on social democracy as an approach to economic policy. Comments are most welcome. The link is here: http://www.broadbentinstitute.ca/reflections_on_the_social_democratic_tradition 1.0 Executive
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: (Macro) Econ 101
On December 2, Chris Ragan wrote a column for the Globe and Mail titled “Another (Macro) Defense of Econ 101.” The link to his column is available here . My brief reply was published in the Globe and Mail on December 13. The full version is below: Professor Ragan defends conventional (macro) Econ
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Economics 101
On October 21, Chris Ragan wrote a column for the Globe and Mail titled “In defence of Economics 101.” The link to his column is available here. On October 24, Marc Lavoie, Louis-Philippe Rochon and Mario Seccareccia replied to him. The link to their response is available here.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The Novel Observations of Jean Tirole?
French economist Jean Tirole has won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on industrial organization and regulation, in particular his insights into oligopolies. “Who is Jean Tirole?, many non-economists and some economists are asking today. The MIT-educated, Toulouse-based professor is a key figure in the New Industrial
Continue readingIs Heterodox Economic Pedagogy Flawed?
I won’t bury the lead. Yes I think heterodox pedagogy is critically flawed at least at the popular and undergraduate levels. Yesterday I had the fortune of bearing witness to a exchange between a sociologist and an economist. Both are well published and respected within their respective fields. Predictably,
Continue readingThe Deadly Myths of Globalisation
What follows is the introduction to a talk I gave at the 3rd Innis Christie Lecture & Symposium in Labour and Employment Law. My sister was educated at the Dalhousie School of Law and I was Lucky enough when visiting her to attend a lecture by Innis Christie. I am
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Mike McCracken: Winner of the 2012 Galbraith Prize in Economics
The Progressive Economics Forum (PEF) is proud to announce that Mike McCracken, Chair and CEO of Informetrica Ltd. in Ottawa, has won the 3rd biennial Galbraith Prize for a lifetime contribution to economics and social justice in Canada. Congratulations, Mike! Mike co-founded Informetrica in 1972, after working at the Economic
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