Author Archives: wciecon
Was last November a turning point?
Statistics Canada's March GDP release was the fourth consecutive month in which output failed to go above what it had been in November 2007. So are we going into a recession as in 1981-82 or 1990-91? Or will the Canadian economy bounce back with stronger growth as in 2001-2002? Before answering, it might be a […]
Carbon taxes vs cap-and-trade
There are now several plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions bouncing around the political landscape. The BC Liberals have implemented a carbon tax and the federal Liberals are also floating the idea. For their part, the federal NDP is talking about a cap-and-trade model, as are the premiers of Ontario and Quebec. And a cap-and-trade […]
The 2008Q1 GDP release: turning point or inflection point?
I thought that yesterday's news about the rebound in the current account was an indication that the first quarter GDP growth would be better than it was in 2007Q4. I thought wrong: Real gross domestic product (GDP) edged down 0.1% in the first quarter of 2008, its first quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2003. The economy, […]
Canada’s current account bounces back up
The roller-coaster ride continues: The current account surplus with the rest of the world (on a seasonally adjusted basis) increased sharply to $5.6 billion in the first quarter of 2008, led by higher prices for several exported commodities combined with a lower travel deficit. The deficits on commercial services and investment income were largely unchanged. The slow growth […]
The Global Effects of U.S. Fiscal Policy
That's the title of a discussion paper (pdf) by Kimberly Flood at the Bank of Canada. This is from the conclusion: The results of our U.S. fiscal policy simulations show that the expiration of the tax relief from the AMT and the expiration of the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 can impose short-run […]
Reactions to the carbon tax: the good, the bad, and the ugly
The good: In addition to being good policy, there's some reason to be optimistic that the Liberals' carbon tax proposal will be good politics. According to one poll, more than 60% of Canadians approve of the general idea of carbon taxes. And even noted environmentalist David Suzuki endorses the idea. David Suzuki can't always be […]
And if you give food to raccoons, they won’t come back
From the Toronto Star: More money for GM despite layoffs, McGuinty says: Premier Dalton McGuinty says Ontario will give General Motors more money for new projects, despite thousands of layoffs announced by the automaker. GM wants the Ontario and federal governments to contribute about $140 million towards a new engine plant in St. Catharines, Ont., […]
The Liberals’ carbon tax proposal
Stéphane Dion and the Liberals are floating the idea of a carbon tax: Liberals say carbon tax will be revenue-neutral: [I]nternal policy discussions are still underway and a number of proposals are under consideration. One proposal under study would replace the federal fuel excise tax – which applies to gasoline and diesel used for vehicles […]
Canada’s income redistribution strategy: take from the rich, give to the median
There have been any number of MSM stories based on StatsCan’s recent release on earnings and income. Median earnings from market income for individuals in 2005 are pretty much the same as they were back in 1980, and market income inequality has – by any measure – increased over the past 25 years. This isn’t […]
Comparing central banks’ responses to the credit crunch
Here’s an interesting graph from the Bank of Canada’s Monetary Policy Report: Yes, yes, I know; it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between the UK and Canada in that graph, but if you look at the original document and zoom in to 200% of the original size, you can (just barely) conclude that the […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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