G20 meeting of world finance ministers too little too late
Posted earlier as an opinion piece for CBC. See original post here (this post slightly modified from original) By Louis-Philippe Rochon Follow him on Twitter @Lprochon Much was at stake…
growth
Conference Board illustrates folly of conventional economic metrics
Once again conventional measurement has painted a warped view of our economic well-being. Relying principally on growth in the GDP sense, The Conference Board of Canada applauds the oil and…
The Cult of Living Large
2015, we’re told, is the year the developed world (that’s us) and the emerging economies (China, India, etc., etc., etc.) will close ranks to formulate an effective plan of action…
Legislating a real raise: Minimum wages and real earnings growth
In a recent post titled, “What happened to the distribution of real earnings during the recession?”, Stephen Gordon presents a graphs that shows some significant growth in real (adjust for…
CAN CHINA INNOVATE ?
CAN CHINA INNOVATE ? The immense weight of China dominates much economic prognostication these days. Will it overtake the USA and become the dominant power of this century ? What…
CAN CHINA INNOVATE ?
CAN CHINA INNOVATE ? The immense weight of China dominates much economic prognostication these days. Will it overtake the USA and become the dominant power of this century ? What…
CAN CHINA INNOVATE ?
CAN CHINA INNOVATE ? The immense weight of China dominates much economic prognostication these days. Will it overtake the USA and become the dominant power of this century ? What…
Calgary—sprawl or planning?
During the recent Calgary election campaign, two visions of the city’s future development vied for attention. One, presented by Calgary’s mayor, Naheed Nenshi, was about planning growth to ensure a…
"When Wealth Disappears"
The chief economist of HSBC. Stephen D. King, says we’re in for a dose of reality – the best days are no longer ahead of us. Growth-driven prosperity, as most…
The need for a global no-growth agreement
Trade agreements are all the rage among nations these days. And that might not be a bad thing if they were principally about trade rather than about empowering corporations at…
Living Within Our Skin
It’s a core tenet of our Western industrial/capitalist/democratic orthodoxy that something in the range of 3% annual economic growth is the benchmark of a healthy society. That’s 3% compounded growth.…
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…
Achieving a Steady State Economy for Canada
What if the way forward isn’t? What if it’s time for us to turn around, to go back? James Lovelock said the future of mankind, if there is to be…
From the mouths of Muppets: Why climate solutions are “simply not done”
Last month, while reading and reviewing Too Much Magic, I came across a line in the latter half of the book that really stung: “Not even people who are preoccupied…
Ontario Demands Less Energy Despite Economic Growth
The only region in North America that expects a decrease in power consumption is Ontario and it’s all thanks to energy conservation initiatives. This is really great because it proves…
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…
Europe’s shrinking economy—bad news or good?
Once again the news of a shrinking economy leaves me with mixed feelings. According to the CBC, the economy of the European Union shrank by 0.2 per cent in the…
On Growth and Its Limits
George Monbiot offers a fascinating insight in the wake of last week’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro. While rightly deriding the declaration adopted by…
Anti-austerity mood grows for better or worse
It seems only weeks ago that austerity opponents were crying in the wind. Their words were blowing away unheard. No more. The Greeks flatly rejected austerity in a recent election…