Macdonald-Laurier Institute on Dutch Disease
Here is my Economy Lab piece on the study by Philip Cross released yesterday. On close examination, his “expanding sectors” turn out to be low value-added resource processing and his…
Andrew Jackson
What Does the Bank of Canada Do?
The Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada have retained Odgers Berndtson to seek a new Governor, and have placed an ad in the Globe and Mail, the Economist…
Best Books of 2012
Here are, in no particular order, my picks for the four best books of 2012 from a progressive economics perspective. Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin. The Making of Global Capitalism:…
Coyne on Inequality
Letter to the Editor Ottawa Citizen, December 18 Andrew Coyne (December 14) leaps on a study by TD Economics to claim that “income inequality in Canada has remained more or…
The Default Option
Here is an important op ed from the Irish Times by a former senior IMF official, arguing that the most heavily indebted euro countries will have to default on some…
Mulcair on the Economy
Leader of the Opposition Tom Mulcair gave a fine speech on the Budget Bill on October 24 which can be found in its entirety in Hansard. I have posted some…
The Limits of Demography
Here is a piece I wrote for today’s Globe Economy Lab re the Department of Finance report on the costs of an aging society. The key point is that the…
Effective Corporate Tax Rate Falling
Further to my earlier post critiquing the recent Mintz study – which argued that cuts in corporate tax rates are not significantly denting corporate tax revenues – I looked up…
Selective Amnesia at the Bank of Canada
A guest blog from Marc Lavoie and Mario Seccareccia, Department of Economics, University of Ottawa In a speech delivered on October 4th to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce (see: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2012/10/speeches/a-measure-of-work/),…
The Canada-US FTA at 25
My take, in the Globe Economy Lab today.
Do Corporate Tax Cuts Really Pay For Themselves?
A new paper by Jack Mintz ( with Duanjie Chen) argues that “corporate tax reductions of more than 30% since 2000 have, contrary to the critics’ cries, failed to make…
The End of Men?
The Globe and Mail on Saturday devoted two pages of its Focus section to a discussion of Hanna Rosin’s book, The End of Men. There are a few interesting anecdotes…
The ECB and the Euro Crisis
Here is an excellent commentary by Andrew Watt on the new ECB commitment to buy bonds without limit to reduce interest rates on the government debt of troubled members of…
Hayek and Contemporary Neo Liberalism
In the spirit of “know thy enemy”, I recently read Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom. (Note to the anxious – I survived the experience, and remain a convinced left Keynesian…
Unionization and Labour Market Performance
Further to my earlier post on the “own goal” scored by the Fraser Institute report on North American labour markets, the Table below shows the rankings of the Canadian provinces…
Labour Market Regulation and Labour Market Performance
A release by the Fraser Institute – Measuring Labour Markets in Canada and the United States, 2012 Edition – registers as a spectacular own goal. The Fraser Institute believes –…
The Economic Crisis: Notes from the Underground
Tom Palley has published a new book – The Economic Crisis: Notes from the Underground. I recommend it unread, having learned a lot from his excellent recent book, From Financial…
Canada’s Economic Problem is NOT High Wages
Bill Curry reports in today’s Globe that, at last year’s economic policy retreat, business leaders urged Finance Minister Flaherty to reduce the pay of “overpriced” Canadian workers, including through anti…
Labour Law and Jobs: A Tale of Two Provinces
Ontario Conservative Leader Tim Hudak claims that union busting right to work laws would create jobs in hard hit industrial Ontario. I have already noted that there is no evidence…
“Right to Work” Laws and Jobs
Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak claims that passage of an anti union “right to work” (RTW) law (making mandatory union dues illegal) would create jobs, especially in hard-hit manufacturing. With…