Economic Respone to Pandemic: Go Big, Go Fast
The health emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic is of course the primary concern of Canadians, and the first priority for government to address. But it is increasingly clear that…
Jim Stanford
Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss
Canadian Dimension always strives to expose the underlying realities and power structures of society: digging beneath superficial appearances and passing fads, to highlight the lasting, exploitative relationships and practices that…
A Warning from Australia on Scheer’s Climate Non-Plan
Andrew Scheer argues carbon pricing is the wrong way to limit GHG emissions. He has pledged to eliminate the federal carbon pricing system, promising that scrapping it will bring down…
The Economic Pay-Off from Public Education
On a trip back to Toronto this week I attended the launch of a new report commissioned by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, and written by Aimee McArthur-Gupta from…
NDP Math Error will Help the Party, Not Hurt It
The number-cruncher in me cringed in sympathy for the anonymous research nerds who made the now-famous math error in the Ontario NDP’s fiscal platform. They wrongly added a $700 million…
Update on Jimbo’s Minimum Wage Wager
It’s been over a week now since I challenged the authors of 5 business-friendly economic reports to a friendly wager over the future trajectory of employment in provinces that are…
NAFTA: Suddenly, Everything’s on the Table
For years, we’ve been told the dictates of globalization, and the intrusive and prescriptive terms of free trade agreements in particular, are immutable, natural, and unquestionable. (Read more…)When workers were…
Denying Globalization’s Downside Won’t Stop Right-Wing Populism
I was somewhat surprised to see Stephen Poloz recently urging economists to do more work identifying and disseminating research on the supposed benefits of free trade. That’s slightly beyond his…
The Stylized Facts of Canada-China Trade
Prime Minister Trudeau leads a big entourage to China this week, in hopes of expanding Canada’s foothold in that huge economy. A couple of interesting media stories today set the…
Challenging Inflation Targeting
Every 5 years the federal Finance Minister updates the “marching orders” that guide the Bank of Canada and its conduct of monetary policy. This process is the one opportunity for…
Is Slow “Growth” Inevitable?
Most of the world economy (including Canada’s) has performed sluggishly since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09. And many economic and fiscal projections now accept this pattern of slow growth…
“Signing Trade Deals” is NOT Synonymous with “Promoting Trade”
The fine folks at the Institute for Research on Public Policy have undertaken an important and eclectic review of Canadian trade policy. They have marshaled 30 contributions from researchers addressing…
Comparing Fiscal Federalism in Canada and Australia
One interesting topic for a Canadian living in Australia is the manner in which fiscal and social responsibilities are divided between the levels of government. Both countries are big, regionally…
Stanford Responds to Moffatt: Why I Still Worry About Auto Job Losses Under a TPP
My friend and fellow #cdnecon tweeter Mike Moffatt has published a thought-provoking commentary regarding the impact of the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) on Canada’s auto industry. Specifically, Mike engages…
Redistribution, Inequality, and Federal Policy: Guest Post by Edgardo Sepulveda
We are pleased to present this rich guest post by a new PEF member, Edgardo Sepulveda. Edgardo has been a consulting economist for more than two decades advising Governments and…
Canada Once Again Adding Value to Its Exports
In the course of researching a forthcoming commentary on Canada’s trade policy for the good folks over at the IRPP, I stumbled upon a surprising and encouraging bit of data.…
Economics for Everyone, 2nd Ed.: Book Tour!
The second edition of Economics for Everyone: A Short Guide to the Economics of Capitalism was co-published by Pluto Books, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and Fernwood Publishing this…
Election 2015 and the Battle of Economic Ideas
I am not a member of a political party. I recognize the importance of elections, participate in election campaigns (including canvassing and raising money for good candidates), and engage heavily…
#HarperEconomy: From Worst to … Worster?
As this marathon election campaign enters its final days, it is interesting to look back on the evolution of the economic debate during the past 11 weeks on the hustings.…
Too Early to Call Recession Over
Statistics Canada is reporting a 0.3% increase in monthly GDP for July, on top of a (downward revised) 0.4% increase in June. This will no doubt spark Conservative politicians, and…