Category Energy
“Does Canada have Dutch disease?” is a question without a meaningful answer
The debate about whether or not Canada has "Dutch disease" can never get very far, because there is in fact no clear notion what it is. As far as I'm concerned, the term has by now been stripped of meaning: people are using the definition that is most convenient for their purposes. So in this […]
Gasoline Prices
Well, the Family Day long weekend is upon us and gasoline prices here in Thunder Bay have spiked up again. Last week, gasoline in Thunder Bay was about $1.17 a liter and right now it is about $1.30 though prices are a bit lower on the south side of town. Thunder Bay's prices have been […]
Employment growth in Texas
This post was written by Simon van Norden of HEC-Montréal. In normal times, people could care less about employment growth in Texas. But times are strange enough that our neighbours to the south are suddenly making an issue of it. (It’s even in the New York Times! (1) (2))
Why high gasoline prices are good news for Canada
Or at least, not the unremittingly bad news that they would appear to be from stories like this: Gas prices 'sucking energy' out of Canadian households: The long upward march in gas prices since late 2010, which has helped keep Canada's resource-based economy chugging, is also equivalent to a 7% hike on the income tax […]
What are the policy implications of an under-valued Canadian dollar?
I wrote a post a few months ago on the curiously nonlinear relationship between the Canadian exchange rate and oil prices. Since then, the prices of oil and other commodities have continued to increase, and it is perhaps time to consider the policy implications of the kink at parity.
LED holiday lights and the rebound effect
The holiday light market is now dominated by energy-efficient LEDs. According to BC Hydro: The big difference is that they use up to 90 per cent less energy than incandescent lights, which means your holiday lighting charges could be as much as 90 per cent less than if you used incandescent lights only. The charges could be […]
Fiscal Policy, the Environment, and How Not to Solve Policy Problems
Canada and by extension the Canadian government faces a number of challenges. There are two in particular I find fascinating:
Over-selling soap
The news item dominated the New York Time's "Most Popular" list for weeks: For your dishwasher's sake – go easy on the detergent. According to the authoritative appliance repairman cited by the Times, “Most people use 10 to 15 times the amount of soap they need, and they’re pouring money down the drain." Wait a […]
Oil prices in currencies other than the USD
I've received a request to update my irregular series of graphs of movements in oil prices in currencies other than the USD. There's been a certain amount of movement in the oil and forex markets over the past few months, so I'm happy to oblige: The CAD and the euro have appreciated by about 20% […]
Oil prices in currencies other than the USD
Once again, we're seeing an increase in USD-denominated oil prices accompanied by a depreciating USD, so it was only a matter of time before someone put 1 and 1 together and got 11: Crude awakening: It's oil about the US dollar: Some people would have you believe that oil's surge above $60 (U.S.) a barrel […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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