Monthly Archives: June 2017
Equalising the twin markups in a monopolistically competitive macroeconomy
The first markup is the markup of Price over Marginal Cost, required for individual firms' profit-maximisation. This is related to the elasticity of an individual firm's demand curve. The formula is: P/MC = [1/(1-1/e)]. The second markup is the markup of Average Total Cost over Marginal Cost. Free entry and exit of firms requires a […]
150 Years of Federal Consumption Taxation
In the run up to Canada Day and the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, here is another in a line of recent snapshots of the federal government – this time its consumption tax revenues. Why consumption taxes? Well, economists like to make the case for more emphasis on consumption taxation relative to income taxes, which […]
A composition effect in earnings growth and education attainment levels in Canada
I came across this post by Mickey Kaus a while ago, on trends in US earnings broken down by education attainment levels. From about the mid-70s to the mid-90s, earnings growth diverged sharply: increasing strongly for those with high levels of education, and falling for people with lower levels of education. Earnings growth has been […]
How to value Aboriginal language television programming
Aboriginal programming is one of Canada's most worthwhile initiatives, from the classic radio program Dead Dog Cafe to Nick Rowe's favourite show, Moosemeat and Marmalade. But what is it worth? If you were asked to do an economic impact assessment of Aboriginal media – especially Aboriginal language programming – how would you do it? A lot of […]
Quebec is a distinct society, parental leave edition
My colleague Jennifer Robson has recently published a study on parental leave for the Institute for Research on Public Policy. It provides a detailed comparison of parental leave in Quebec and the rest of Canada (ROC), and provides a number of recommendations for changing the way that parental leaves are delivered through Canada' Employment Insurance system. As […]
150 Years of Canadian National Defence Spending
Canada’s federal government is going to deliver a new defence policy that is expected to guide Canada’s military for the next generation. While in the works for months, it comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s recent exhortation at the NATO meetings that NATO members are not spending enough and Tuesday’s speech by Minister […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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