Monthly Archives: April 2011
Walras’ Law vs Monetary Disequilibrium Theory
Walras' Law says that a general glut (excess supply) of newly-produced goods (and services) has to be matched by an excess demand for some other good. But it could be matched by an excess demand of anything that is not a newly-produced good. It could be an excess demand for money. Or it could be […]
An Aging Society: Another View
The debate over the sustainability of public health care has often focused on an aging population as one of the key drivers with apocalyptic scenarios of a silver tsunami of seniors washing over the health care system and bankrupting the system.
A preliminary estimate for Canadian 2011Q1 GDP growth
Statistics Canada released their estimates for monthly GDP growth in February: a decline of 0.2%. This is a disappointing number, but when combined with the strong January number and the increase in hours worked in March, my toy backcaster that uses the first two months' GDP data and the employment numbers in the third month […]
Collective Disasters and Individual Responsibility: Lessons from the Kobe earthquake
Japan's 1995 Kobe earthquake resulted in the loss of 6,432 lives, and the complete destruction of over one hundred thousand buildings – a loss of homes comparable to that caused by Japan’s recent tsunami. The people of Japan rebuilt then. Can they rebuild now? (In the pictures: a post-earthquake collapsed expressway; Kobe's expressway today).
Resolving the U.S. Fiscal Crisis
The current debate in the United States over their budget deficit and debt does not appear to be generating solutions that will solve their problem anytime soon. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of President Obama’s budget proposals, the deficit under the President’s proposals would at first fall, but after 2015 would begin to […]
Functional Finance vs the Long Run Government Budget Constraint
(I had been planning to write this post before Steven Landsburg started a whole blogosphere argument about what taxes are for. Honest!) Functional Finance says you only use taxes if you want to reduce Aggregate Demand to prevent inflation. The Long Run Government Budget Constraint says you use taxes to pay for past, present or […]
Musings on Good Friday
Today is Good Friday, the end of Lent, the Christian period of fasting or sacrifice. In Europe, it was once traditional to fast, or give up eating animal products, for the duration of Lent. That traditional sacrifice is the source of some well-known Easter rituals. We're celebrating the end of Lent today with hot cross […]
Intelligent Government in Canada — Ian Stewart Festschrift
I have 300+ exam papers to grade, and simply don't have time to do a proper post on this. (I don't really have the breadth of knowledge required either). Anyone interested in public policy in Canada, from a mostly economic perspective, would have benefited greatly from attending the conference (organised by the Centre for the […]
Canada’s Kobyashi Maru Test
In the Star Trek universe, one of the curriculum requirements for Starfleet Officer cadets is the infamous Kobyashi Maru test – the test of ultimate character and command ability.
A rant about EI premiums
It's her first job. She paid $105 last year in Employment Insurance premiums. But she worked fewer than 910 hours. So she wouldn't be eligible to claim EI, even if she was laid off. It's not fair that she has to pay premiums, but receives no entitlement to benefits in return.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
Recent Comments