Category Everyday economics
Seaways and Separatism
Like every Canadian my age, I was taught about the St Lawrence Seaway in school. But I never fully understood why it was built or how it worked. So, while in Montréal this past weekend, I decided to cycle the length of the Lachine Canal, and around to the Lachine Rapids (pictured on the right), to […]
Reality TV as union busting?
TV writers and actors get paid decent money, because they're unionized. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists's contract specifies fees for every type of TV appearance. Reality TV stars are not "television and radio artists" and do not need to be paid union rates. Reality television shows can feature non-union performers without violating AFTRA agreements. This […]
Whatever happened to black cat toffee?
Back in the day, name brand chocolate – Coffee Crisp, Mars bars – made up a small percentage of the average trick-or-treat haul. I remember getting candy apples, rockets, tootsie pops, suckers, caramels, "boiled sweets" (hard sugar candy), raisins and the dread black cat toffee. Nothing – in terms of quality or in terms of […]
The unwanted gift
Before markets existed, people used gifts to save and invest, to exchange goods and services, and to pool risk. Lark Rise to Candleford, Flora Thompson's portrait of 19th century British village life, describes a gift exchange – and its underlying logic – in detail. Each year every family in the village bought and raised a […]
Why is canine cataract surgery so expensive?
In Ontario, a opthamologist is paid $441.95 per eye for cataract surgery. In Ottawa, the cost of canine cataract surgery is about $4,000. (I cannot give you an exact price, as the Ontario Veterinary Medicine Association's suggested fee guide is not available to non-members). Why do opthamologists charge more to repair a dog's eye than a human's eye?
Sustainable Universities
Judging from some of the ruminating going on in the media lately, it would appear that Canadian universities will soon be facing a new assault under the mantra of sustainability. Some of this is a spillover from the United States where rising tuition fees have exceeded the general inflation rate fostering a view that higher […]
The macroeconomics of Big Wedding cultures
How do you build a macroeconomic model of a "Big Wedding" culture? Do Big Wedding cultures spend too much on consumption and too little on saving and investment? If so, what's cause and what's effect? I don't know the answer. I don't even really need to know the answer. But this question has been stuck […]
The Long Hand of Medieval Economic Thought…
In the current Ontario election campaign, both the Ontario Conservatives and the NDP have put in their platforms pledges to remove the HST from home hydro bills and home heating. It is argued that these items are not luxuries and that the HST has made life less affordable for families. The NDP goes a step […]
The overlooked failure in pension markets
Public economics textbooks have lists of reasons why pension markets fail. People aren't aware of the need for for retirement savings, either because they're short sighted, or have limited cognitive abilities. Annuities markets fail, because only people who know they are likely will live a long time will choose to purchase annuities. Private markets may […]
Thinking About Economics
As part of my fall teaching load, I will be teaching what economists sometimes refer to as “History of Thought” but which is more correctly termed the “History of Economic Thought” or perhaps “Evolution of Economic Theory and Analysis”.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
Recent Comments