Monthly Archives: July 2010
A preliminary estimate for Canadian 2010Q2 GDP growth
It's time to update my series of posts (2009Q1, 2009Q2, 2009Q3, 2009Q4, 2010Q1) in which I try to take the GDP numbers from the first two months of a given quarter, mix them with the LFS numbers from the third month, and concoct a preliminary estimate for quarterly GDP growth. The BEA released theirs yesterday […]
Economics, Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll
When obscure bands like the Dirty 30s play a gig, they are often paid a percentage of the bar sales. This time-honoured tradition solves two information problems: 1. The owner of a bar may lack the time or the ability to assess a band's quality. But with a revenue-sharing arrangement, that's not a problem – […]
Twitter List of Canadian Economists
I’m putting together a list on twitter of ‘Economists who work in Canada and Canadians that are economists.’ Right now it’s a very short list: Kevin Milligan of UBC Rachel Ziemba of Roubini Global Economics Stephen Gordon Mike Moffatt Know of any other economists on twitter that I can add to the list? Anyone can […]
What modern art and economic theory have in common
Economic theory and modern art are a lot alike. They're abstract. When Gainsborough painted a horse, he tried to represent it as realistically as possible. But Deborah Butterfield's Jerusalem Horse #1 looks at first glance like a tangled piece of rusting metal. Then one sees the neck of the horse, and the head, traced out […]
In Praise of Dark Ages
This can't be quite right. But I'm going to run it by you anyway. An occasional Dark Age is a good thing. We sometimes need to forget. We sometimes need to torch libraries. That's the only way that knowledge can progress. Paul Krugman defined a Dark Age well. I forget exactly what he said, and […]
Cash as the real real option — to do anything
Option theory was originally about financial assets called options. A put option is a derivative that gives you the right to sell some asset at a pre-specified price. A call option is a derivative that gives you the right to buy some asset at a pre-specified price. They are called options because you have the […]
Why a Mandatory Census is Necessary
One talking point I have heard a fair bit the last few days is: “There are a lot of voluntary surveys out there that seem to be accurate. Are you suggesting they’re all flawed?” The answer is that those voluntary surveys rely on a mandatory census and as such, the removal of the census will […]
Clutch Hitting, Frank Robinson and Opportunity Costs
I think we could all use a lighter topic to discuss. Here’s one, courtesy of Baseball Reference. Sean Forman lists the five most “clutch” and five least clutch players in Major League Baseball history. Frank Robinson comes in as the 2nd least clutch, which causes Sean Forman to respond: I’m going to let someone else […]
Golden classics: great composers, consumers’ preferences or economic incentives?
Last night I went to a concert of golden classics – pieces like the Toreador song from Carmen that have the audience humming along. And I started wondering – why, when I go to a classical music concert, do I so rarely hear something written by a living composer? I can think of three explanations.
The federal deficit bottoms out
The most recent numbers from the Fiscal Monitor confirm that the deficit has started to shrink. These data are monthly and have important seasonal factors (particularly at the end of the fiscal year), so I've been tracking the 12-month moving sums. These don't quite correspond to the annual numbers, but they give us a good […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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