Author Archives: wciecon
The federal deficit is shrinking quickly
During the recession and recovery, I got into the habit of writing graph-laden posts every time there was an important data release. I've gotten out of that habit, but I still keep track. One of the things I track is the federal Department of Finance's Fiscal Monitor, which is a brief monthly summary of federal […]
Ulysses of the concrete steppes
Ulysses had to take concrete steps to influence his own future actions. He had himself tied to the mast. Unlike Ulysses, most of us don't have to take concrete steps to influence our own future actions. Instead we make promises.
Ontario and its Physicians: Richer Than They Think No Longer
Ontario’s health minister Deb Matthews is moving into a major battle with the physicians in the process of trying to get health care costs under control as part of the provincial deficit fighting agenda. Deb Matthews has on a number of occasions remarked that Ontario’s physicians are the best paid in the country.
A preliminary estimate for Canadian 2012Q1 GDP growth
The February GDP number came out yesterday, so it's time for my quarterly exercise in trying to come up with a preliminary estimate for quarterly GDP growth a month before Statistics Canada makes its first announcement. As regular readers will no doubt be weary of being reminded, the estimate is based on the GDP numbers […]
The Big Secret: Banks are banks
I have a confession to make. During the financial crisis I secretly bailed out the Bank of Montreal. I was part of a vast conspiracy of millions of other Canadians doing the same thing. It's worse. My personal bailout program for the Bank of Montreal started long before the financial crisis. It started when I […]
Fiscal policy, ideology, and framing
TiC Take a standard New Keynesian macro model. Assume it sometimes gets stuck in a ZLB liquidity trap, where monetary policy can't work. There is a very simple solution: use fiscal policy. Government spending should be cut whenever the economy is not in a liquidity trap. That is the clear policy implication of New Keynesian […]
Compensating differentials, field of study and the Quebec student strike
Only something like 35% of Quebec students are on strike*, and in a column in today's La Presse, Yves Boivert notes that those on strike are overwhelmingly from the arts and social sciences faculties; those in natural sciences, engineering, medicine, etc have all stayed in class and their session is ending normally. His argument is […]
Three arguments for NGDP targeting
This is in response to David Andolfatto's questions. Nominal GDP is just one of an infinite number of variables that monetary policy might target. The probability that NGDP is exactly the best target variable is infinitesimal. I nevertheless support NGDP targeting, because I think it is probably reasonably close to that unknown best target variable; […]
Visualizing GDP Performance
Statistics Canada just released its GDP statistics by industry for the provinces and territories for 2011.
Designing exam questions: the realism-clarity trade-off
Which is the better exam question:
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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