Monthly Archives: November 2014
Urban GDP
Statistics Canada has released experimental estimates of gross domestic product for the period 2001 to 2009 for 33 census metropolitan areas. The results of course reinforce what we already know – that Canada’s economic activity is concentrated in its cities and half of our GDP is produced in just six cities – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, […]
The collective speed limit game
Neo-Fisherite fun. Plus concrete steppes fun. 1. Suppose you don't care what speed you drive. Anything between 0 and 200 is all the same to you. But the cops do care what speed you drive. They want you to drive at exactly the speed limit S*, neither faster nor slower. (They have a symmetric target.) […]
Bond Finance and the Great Depression
Attending the Social Science History Association Meetings in Toronto this weekend provided as usual an opportunity to take in new papers and ideas, digest them and then think about what further insight they might add to our knowledge of past economic events. One such paper was Richard Sutch’s (University of California) “Financing the Great War: […]
Black holes and Neo-Fisherites are a monetary phenomenon
Suppose you live in a Neo-Wicksellian economy, where the central bank sets a nominal rate of interest. Black holes are a theoretical possibility. Nominal demand for goods can spiral down to zero, if people expect it to. And white explosions are a theoretical possibility too. Nominal demand for goods can spiral up to infinity, if […]
Neo-Fisherites again: Schmitt-Grohe and Uribe
I was scared of reading Stephanie Schmitt-Grohe and Martin Uribe's paper (pdf). All I knew was that it was a technically demanding paper, and that it had the "Neo-Fisherite" result — if the central bank increased the rate of interest, inflation would rise. I have now read it. Sort of. I think I now understand […]
Neo-Fisherites and the Scandinavian Flick
Noah Smith wonders if "reality might topple a beloved economic theory". Well, if you look at Sweden, reality just confirmed that beloved economic theory. The Riksbank raised interest rates because it was scared that low interest rates would cause financial instability. Lars Svensson resigned in protest. Then inflation fell, and the Riksbank needed to cut […]
Reverse Regression and the Great Gatsby Curve
[Update: I'm getting an awful feeling this post may be totally wrong. Does (1/b)/[1+Var(V(i))/Var(Y(i))] = b if the Lamarck model is true? If so, my proposal won't work. Wish I could do math.] [Update2. Nope, I think it will work. But Majromax in comments has come up with a simpler way to do the same […]
Comparing Health Spending Restraint: Past and Present
Adjusting for inflation and population growth, the new CIHI numbers show per capita provincial and territorial government health expenditures have declined since their peak in 2010. From a high of $2,584 (1997 dollars), real provincial and territorial government health spending per capita has declined by 3.9 percent to reach an estimated $2,483.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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