Category General
Who would think that economic history and the history of economic thought are not part of economics?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics, that’s who. Sandra Peart is appealing for help (more updates at her blog) and she should get it. Here is the letter she’s circulating: Dr. David Brett Australian Bureau of Statistics Asrc.comments@abs.gov.au Dear Dr. Brett, We urge you to reconsider the decision to “relocate” “economic history” and “history of economic […]
Results from a natural experiment: Economists are different
Last year, in my report on the inner workings of the adjudication process for research funding applications at the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), I made the following complaint: For some reason that has never been clearly explained to me – and I’ve done this twice – SSHRC insists on a fixed ‘success […]
People respond to incentives. But not always in the way planners would have predicted
Increases in the time it takes to get to work have changed the behaviour of commuters. No, they’re not changing their driving habits; they’ve simply figured out better ways of using the time they spend in traffic: Rather than carpool, drivers adapt to gridlock: analyst. Drivers are getting more cozy in their fully equipped cars […]
Economics and climatology: Why perfect markets are like a dishpan
Brian Ferguson at A Canadian Econoview makes an interesting point: Ever wonder why so many economists are sceptical about man-made global warming? It’s because we’ve had a lot of humbling experience with just how quickly large scale computer models can go very badly wrong. Remember when we had inflation and unemployment under control through Keynesian […]
The fallacy of composition: Canadian economy edition
For some inexplicable reason, the Globe and Mail decides that valuable space should be devoted to the musings of a US-based consultant: Where would Canada be without sizzling Alberta? Stalled without it, U.S. economist says: Alberta’s sizzling economy is keeping all of Canada from burning out, reckons one U.S.-based economist. Carl Weinberg, chief economist at […]
Workers we trust
According to a recent survey, the most trustworthy workers are in the following jobs (% of respondents who say people who work in these fields are trustworthy in parentheses): Firefighters (93) Nurses (87) Pharmacists (86) Airline pilots (81) Doctors (80) Police officers (69) Teachers (69) Armed forces personnel (65) Daycare workers (61) Accountants (54) Judges […]
I wish A Canadian Econoview allowed comments
A Canadian Econoview is really quite wonderful, but it doesn’t allow comments. This has become a mounting source of frustration for me, so I’ve decide to devote a post to making the comments that I’d like to make there, but can’t. 1) Importing skilled labour: Canadian medical planners have engineered a shortage of doctors, while […]
When universal programs are regressive
Alain Dubuc’s column in today’s Le Soleil makes the not-made-often-enough point that many universal programs are in fact regressive, and wonders why self-described progressives defend them so ferociously: Mais pourquoi a-t-on privilégié l’universalité ? Parce qu’elle rend les programmes sociaux acceptables, puisque tous les citoyens, et donc tous les électeurs, en sont bénéficiaires. Et par […]
Beware the clever theorist
Jim Markusen betrays our deepest, darkest secret to The Economist: "I am confident that I can concoct a model to generate any result desired by a reader with a deep pocketbook."
Electric boondoggle du jour
Last month, the government of Quebec and Alcan cobbled together a deal in which Alcan agreed to invest $2b in order to build a new aluminum smelter in the Saquenay-Lac St Jean region; the selling point was the creation of 740 jobs. The Quebec government’s contribution: A $400m interest-free loan over 30 years. $112m in […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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