Category Inequality
The Politician’s Syllogism, the minimum wage and the welfare effects of random redistributions of income
We're all familiar with the concept, but for those who weren't aware that it had been formalised, given a title and a Wikipedia entry, the Politician's Syllogism goes like this: We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this. And so it is with the minimum wage. Poverty and inequality are problems […]
Popular support for increased inequality?
One part of Canada's tax-transfer system increases inequality of wealth. That's not an unfortunate side-effect of the policy; it is deliberately designed that way. It would be very easy to design it differently so that it did not increase inequality.
Inequality and debt: the soft bigotry of low expectations
"The poor don't have enough income to save, and can't help going into debt to the rich. Debt is caused by inequality". That statement is wrong on many levels. It's wrong theoretically. It's wrong empirically. But most of all, it's wrong because it might make inequality worse. It's the soft bigotry of low expectations. Providence […]
The generosity collapse
People give when they're asked. Jim Andreoni and Justin Rao have proved it. They ran the following experiment: one person, the allocator, was given 100 'money units', worth $10 in real money. She was free to choose how much to keep for herself and how much to give to another person, the recipient. The recipient, […]
Are the rich capitalist? Are capitalists rich?
A short answer to both of these questions is "typically not," and an even shorter answer is "no". A longer answer is below the fold.
The Basic Income: Go big, or go home
I used to blog fairly regularly about the Basic Income (aka Citizen's Income, aka Guaranteed Annual Income), but the passage of a decent interval of time, Kevin Milligan's recent Economy Lab columns ([1] , [2]) and Erin Anderssen's long article in Saturday's Globe and Mail gives me an excuse to revisit the issue and perhaps […]
More evidence on minimum wages, employment and poverty
A year ago, I brought attention to a Canadian Public Policy article on poverty and the minimum wage in Ontario. A notable finding of the study was that the overlap between those who earn minimum wage and those who are in poverty was surprisingly small, small enough to conclude – as I did – that […]
Gender equity and vertical equity
I'm spending today writing a review of Caren Grown and Imraan Valodia's new book Taxation and Gender Equity.The review is for the journal Feminist Economics, but I'll give you an uncensored sneak preview of the good bits here.
Is there any point in saving?
A recent report prepared for the Department of Finance by Keith Horner came to a optimistic conclusion about Canadians' savings levels: Overall, it appears that about 69% of Canadian households saved in RPPs and RRSPs at rates sufficient to fully maintain their consumption levels in retirement (100% replacement rate). About 78% of households met a […]
Philanthropy and the public good
I'm just back from visiting the Getty Villa and I don't know what to make of it. On the one hand, this is a model of what can be achieved through private philanthropy. J. Paul Getty built the villa to house his collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. The building, grounds, and setting are gorgeous, […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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