Monthly Archives: March 2011
Live, on tape delay: It’s the 2011 federal budget
I'm off to the budget lockup, where I will be without internet access until the Minister of Finance starts to give his budget speech. I'll be writing for the Globe and Mail's budget page. Here is a short summary of what I'm looking at ex ante, and I'm scheduled to be a part of the […]
What are the policy implications of an under-valued Canadian dollar?
I wrote a post a few months ago on the curiously nonlinear relationship between the Canadian exchange rate and oil prices. Since then, the prices of oil and other commodities have continued to increase, and it is perhaps time to consider the policy implications of the kink at parity.
What’s Your Best Guess for the Federal Deficit in the Upcoming Budget?
Well, Tuesday March 22nd is Federal Budget Day. If you are a movie buff, Oscar night is your big fiesta. If you are a CFL fan, it’s the Grey Cup. If you are an economist (with a public finance background) then Budget Day is when you clear your day, make some popcorn and gather family […]
Is it wrong to keep working?
Older university professors earn more than younger ones - this paper has Canadian evidence and references. Studies of scientists and of Norwegian academics have found that research productivity begins to fall at some point, but the onset and rate of decline varies across disciplines. One more recent study found that age and publication productivity were unrelated. Studies (here and here) that track professors' student evaluations over […]
Estimating the Impact of the HST
In the last month we have seen two studies released on the impact of the HST - Consumer Impacts of BC’s Harmonized Sales Tax (PDF) by Jonathan R. Kesselman and The Impact of Sales Tax Reform on Ontario Consumers: A First Look at the Evidence (PDF) by Michael Smart. Both papers examine the impact that HST had on the prices of […]
Do Keynesians understand their own models?
If we lived in a world of barter exchange, or in a world where people could use barter exchange at minimal cost, Keynesian macroeconomics would make no sense whatsoever. That is not, of course, a criticism of Keynesian macroeconomics. We do live in a world where people use monetary exchange, not barter. And people (usually) […]
Some Economic Underpinnings of the Arc of Protest
Along with the latest news from Bahrain, the public protests, rebellions and uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East that are underway in an arc stretching from Tunisia to Iran have certainly caught the attention of the world. The popular analysis of what is driving these protests has invariably focused on a desire for […]
Are there any straight lines in economics? Roman and Anglo Saxon roads.
This post is meandering philosophical whimsy that goes nowhere. If you don't get off on that sort of thing, best stop reading now.
Adam Smith on disaster and virtue
There are no words for what the people of Japan are experiencing: earthquake, tsunami and now, possibly, nuclear disaster. In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith wrote a troubling passage describing "a man of humanity's" reaction to a far distant earthquake:
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative – The Shameless Self Promotion Edition
After doing a few dozen radio interviews, I just finished up my first ever TV interview. If there's anything at all usable after they edit my ummms, ahhhs, and pauses, I'll be on Global with Sean O'Shea discussing the economic impact on Canada of the earthquake in Japan. I believe it will be on at […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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