Krugman: End This Depression Now!
I am an enthusiastic reader of Krugman’s columns and, especially, his economic blog. And I certainly side strongly with him in the intellectual and political struggle against “the Austerians” and…
Andrew Jackson
HRSDC Funded Research Contradicts Key Argument For New EI Policy
According to today’s Globe, the government says that the major target of pending changes to EI is frequent claimants, who are disproportionately to be found in the high unemployment regions.…
More on “Labour Shortages”
Here are the most recent Statscan job vacancy data by province. There were six unemployed workers for every reported job vacancy in Canada in the three months ending in January,…
The Stock Market and Canadian Economic Performance
Glancing idly at the numbers, I find to my slight surprise that the Canadian stock market (S&P/TSX) is now down about 25% from the May, 2008 peak, whereas the US…
Memo to Ministers: The Issue is Unemployment Not Labour Shortages
The federal government is basing labour market policy on the belief that, as Jason Kenney pithily puts it in today’s Globe, there are “large and growing labour shortages.” Hence moves…
Why Can’t We Afford What We Used to Have?
In this age of austerity, we are constantly told by governments that we have to tighten our belts. Tuition fees have to go up; public pensions, Unemployment Insurance and social…
Tightening the Screws on the Unemployed
The significant changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program which are to be quickly implemented through Budget 2012 with very little consultation have not received enough critical attention. First, a…
From Financial Crisis to Stagnation
I am enjoying Tom Palley’s new book – and would post an enthusiastic review except for the fact that I have been unable to find the time to finish it.…
The Federal Budget and Women
(The following is from my colleague Angella McEwen.) The only mention of either men or women in the 400-odd page 2012 Budget Implementation Bill is with regards to the appropriate…
Social Statistics: Ignorance Is Bliss
Pretty soon asking even the most basic social policy questions will require huge amounts of investment in primary research. Regularly published statistical reports and summaries are disappearing by the minute.…
Later Retirement: A Win – Win Solution?
The C D Howe Institute have put out a study on later retirement by Peter Hicks, a former senior official with HRSDC and the OECD who has written a lot…
Katimavik
I am sure readers of this blog are not unsympathetic to the case for a government supported program which, at a time of very high youth unemployment, annually enables some…
Job Gains in March: An Aberration?
Coming after several months of flat or falling job growth, the large jump in employment in March – up 82,300 – has prompted concerns that it could be a statistical…
A Good Month Leaves Us Well Short of a Recovery
Today’s job numbers for March are much stronger than they have been since last September. Job creation was very strong – up 82,300 in the month, with 70,000 of those…
The Federal Budget Impact on Jobs
The Budget estimate that a new round of cuts will eliminate up to 19,200 jobs has been widely cited as fact, but it cannot be taken at face value as…
The Assault on Statistics Canada Continues
Soon we will live in a world where we lack an empirical basis for policy and political debate, leaving everyone even more free to invent their own facts. The Globe…
OAS, the Budget and the Baby Boomers
The Budget justifies raising the age of eligibility for OAS and GIS on the grounds that the long-term fiscal sustainability of the program is being undermined by rising life expectancy.…
CLC Analysis of the 2012 Budget
Introduction Budgets are all about choices. With unemployment and underemployment still at very high levels and a shrinking middle-class, the federal government could and should have laid the basis for…
Taxing High Incomes in Ontario
It is notable that the scale of Ontario’s ostensibly dire fiscal position did not prompt any notable response on the tax side, beyond postponing planned reductions to the corporate tax…
The Current Account Deficit
The National Bank have published a very useful and interesting report on the current account deficit, which is now running at about 3% of GDP. They argue that the deficit…