IMF Hints at Need for Less Fiscal Austerity and a Plan B for Canada
Albeit in a highly nuanced way, the IMF has called on the G-20 to temper short-term fiscal austerity now that the global economy “has entered a dangerous phase.” In their…
Andrew Jackson
Recent Immigrants and the Crisis
It is no secret that times of high unemployment and precarious work are especially tough for new and recent entrants to the job market, notably young workers and recent immigrants.…
Small Business and the Attack on Unions
In case you had any doubts where the escalating attack on Canadian unions is coming from, check out the web site of the Canadian Labour Watch Association. The Labour Watch…
Why Are They So Angry at Wall Street?
Well, we know, but these Charts tell an incredible story. http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-protesters-are-so-angry-about-2011-10?op=1
The Prime Minister and the G20
Prime Minister Harper’s op ed in the Globe today on his hopes for the Cannes summit is disappointing, even if the content comes as no surprise. His focus is on…
Neo Liberal Globalization Kills Good Jobs
Well, you’ve heard that kind of line from labour and the left, but now the IMF seems to have been pretty much won over to the argument that global supply…
The Fundamentals Are Pretty Shaky
Thanks to Arthur Donner’s Economic Comment for bringing this to my attention. The official line we hear everyday is that the Canadian fundamentals are great, while other countries are in…
The State of the Economy and Labour’s Response
The advanced economies, including Canada, risk falling back into recession because of government spending cuts and a looming financial crisis. The Canadian Labour Congress has been calling for our federal…
Bring Out the Printing Press!
That’s the only way out of the deepening crisis of the advanced economies, according to FT economics editor Martin Wolf in his column today. “It is the policy that dare…
Stephen Harper and Economics 101
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who prides himself on being an economist, has characterized his government’s fiscal policy as “expansionary.” If he really thinks the simple fact of running a budget…
Wage Deflation Confirmed
In an earlier post, I noted that falling real wages as indicated by July and August data from the Labour Force Survey which showed increases of just 1.4% in hourly…
The G20 and Jobs
The meeting of G20 Labour Ministers in Paris on September 26-27, held in advance of the November G20 Summit in Cannes, reached some conclusions which go some (extremely modest) way…
Taxing the Rich
Over at the Globe and Mail Economy Lab our friend Stephen Gordon argues that there are only limited revenues to be gained by taxing the rich. He plays around with…
Global Imbalances
The IMF World Economic Outlook notes that the desired process of rebalancing global demand from countries with large trade deficits (notably the US) to countries with large trade surpluses (notably…
Trade Unions Urge G20 Action on Jobs
I am attending the G20 labour ministers meeting next week, which is being held against the background of high unemployment in the advanced economies, and the prospect – highlighted by…
Gloom and Doom from the IMF
Further to my earlier post on Recession Ahead?, the IMF have today sharply revised down their forecasts of Canadian growth – from 2.9% to 2.1% in 2001, and from 2.6%…
Fighting Unemployment
I was sorry to miss a celebration of the life and work of Ian Stewart organized by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards last Friday night. Ian was…
Falling Real Wages Signal Trouble Ahead
The Labour Force Survey for August showed that average hourly wages were up by just 1.4% from a year earlier, the same low level of increase as was registered in…
The Eurozone Crisis
There is a cogent commentary from Martin Wolf in today’s FT. It is scary indeed that averting financial collapse demands structural changes in the euro area which seem to be…
Recession Ahead?
TD Economics yesterday released a rather gloomy report, putting the odds of a US recession at 40%, and arguing that that Canadian economy is more vulnerable to recession than it…