Hookers to be part of Italy’s GDP
Italy’s National Institute of Statistics recently announced that next year it will start including activities such as prostitution and illegal drug sales in the country’s Gross Domestic Product. And why…
gdp
The IMF and Progressive Economics in Canada
It is interesting to note that the most recent IMF staff report on Canadian economic issues echoes some key concerns of progressive economists. I have reported these for the Broadbent…
PEF Session at the House of Commons Finance Committee
The Progressive Economics Forum (PEF) normally hosts sessions at the Canadian Economics Association’s annual conference. But the House of Commons finance committee threw most of the union economists testifying in…
Black Friday GDP: Consumption Slows, But Inventories Jump
Ironically, Statistics Canada’s third-quarter GDP report on Black Friday showed the growth rate of consumption being cut in half. Final consumption expenditure grew by 0.4% in the third quarter compared…
Fossil-Fueled GDP Growth
Yesterday, Statistics Canada reported that the Canadian economy had a month of fossil-fueled growth in August. Overall GDP was up by 0.3%, only half as much as in July but…
Grounding the Toronto Island Airport’s $1.9-Billion Claim
As part of its push to expand to accommodate jet flights, the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport has been advertising that it contributes $1.9 billion to Toronto’s economy. This claim…
What happened to the recovery?
(The following is slightly adapted from a short piece on page 3 in the new issue of Economy at Work, the quarterly publication I produce for CUPE, which also covers…
A Fine Balance: GDP Growth by Sector and the Impact of Austerity
The second-quarter GDP numbers confirm that Canada’s continuing “recovery,” such as it is, is still balancing very precariously on a knife-edge between expansion and contraction. The various sources of growth…
GDP: Consumers to the Rescue
Following positive GDP numbers in April and May, Statistics Canada reported today that a sharp drop in June dragged Canada’s economic growth to a mediocre pace of 0.4% for the…
GDP: Resource Exports Cover for Domestic Weakness
Statistics Canada reported today that GDP grew by 0.6% in the first quarter. The volume of energy and mining exports expanded by more than 5%, offsetting lower exports of many…
How A Bad Economy Is Not Harper’s Fault
Canada’s economy is set to grow less than the government thought, but it’s not our Prime Minister’s fault. True under Stephen Harper the World Bank has downgraded Canada from being…
Looking back in perplexity: where did all of Alberta’s money go again?
First World money and Third World roads. If we’re so rich in Alberta, why do we seem so poor? A motorist negotiates one of Edmonton’s famed potholes. Actual Edmonton drivers…
Health care is good medicine for Canada’s economy
by Conference Board of Canada | Jan. 31, 2013: OTTAWA – Health care is a large and essentially recession-proof part of Canada’s economy, creating more than 10 per cent of…
The mean test: how we measure success
Chief Theresa Spence (by Regina Southwind, Rabble, December 17) As we enter 2013, how is Canada doing? How do we stack up against other rich countries? Emerging from the year…
The mean test: how we measure success
Chief Theresa Spence (by Regina Southwind, Rabble, December 17) As we enter 2013, how is Canada doing? How do we stack up against other rich countries? Emerging from the year…
2013 Predictions
Justin Trudeau will become the next Liberal Leader and the party will actually air an advertisement or two as part of a determined strategy to define him and the party…
Conservative Canada Is Closer To Crisis
Referenced IMF data can be found here Canada's increasing Debt-to-GDP ratio is a problem no one is talking about. While the country's gross government debt (which includes all levels of…
The Conservative Economic Record
Sept 2012: Unemployment is up at 7.4%; it has been increasing since June while American unemployment has only gone down. July 2012: Worst trade deficit ever in Canadian history at…
GDP: Petro-Rebound Conceals Underlying Problems
The main story in today’s GDP numbers is that the oil, gas and mining industries rebounded sharply in April after being hobbled by temporary maintenance and production difficulties in February…
Happy Planet, Happy People: A Radical Idea Whose Time Has Come
How much happiness do we get for our planet plundering? Is it possible to rethink the status quo at this point in human history, especially considering the alternative? * The…