Monthly Archives: September 2012
How much revenue can the Quebec government generate by increasing tax rates on high earners?
The newly-elected Parti québécois government wants to (among other things) eliminate the 'health tax' introduced in the 2010 budget and make up the shortfall by introducing two new tax brackets at the top end of the income distribution: 28% for taxable incomes above $130,000 31% for taxable incomes above $250,000 The current top Quebec rate […]
Simple thoughts on NGDP = RGDP x P
There have been several recent posts in the blogospere arguing about the interpretation of graphs (for several countries, but you can see Canada's here) which show a big fall in NGDP (relative to trend) at the beginning of the 2008 recession. (The latest from Ryan Avent here; Tyler Cowen's collection of links here.) Here are […]
Some notes on the Economics of Sex
This evening I gave a short talk for the Carleton Economics Student Societies on the Economics of Sex – here are the notes: Download The Economics of Sex There are penguins.
Office hours: an accidental experiment
Every year I conscientiously hold office hours, and every year only a few students take advantage of them. The TAs' offices are just as empty. Some students even pay for private tutoring, instead of taking advantage of the free services provided by the university. This week, however, I carried out an accidental experiment.
Two (probably) unstable macroeconomic equilibria
Some people argue about whether the macroeconomy is inherently stable or unstable. I don't think that's a very useful question. Because…..it depends. And one of the things it depends on is monetary policy. And that is a useful discussion to have, because we can actually do something about monetary policy. Don't adopt a monetary policy […]
The impossibility of a behavioural welfare economics
Anyone who has taken Econ 1000 learns that restricting soda consumption creates a deadweight loss:
The economics of paywalls
With on-line advertising revenues stagnant at best, and print in terminal decline, newspapers are starting to build paywalls. The economics of on-line media is a little different from the economics of print, and a lot different from the economics of, say, potatoes. The difference is shown in the diagram below.
Should Academic Economists Consult and Endorse Political Candidates? (And my Deal to the LPC)
This is an issue I have been struggling with for a couple months. I have talked to dozens of my colleagues (one of whom called my position "courageous" – I've watched enough Yes Minister to know that the remark was not a complement). It all started innocently enough, with a letter supporting Erin Weir.
Fedspeak NGDP portfolio
I want to pick a very small fight with Paul Krugman. And I want to get my head clearer on something. (It's still not clear, so read at your own risk.) So I'm writing this post. Here's Paul: "The problem, at least in part, is that the indirectness of Bernanke’s language, the way an inflation […]
Winter is Coming…
Well, here are some depressing statistics from Banca D’Italia’s recent release on Italy’s economy.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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