Category International
As the Border turns: Cross-Border Shopping Revisited
According to a report in the May 11th edition of the Globe and Mail, the U.S. government is pressing the Canadian federal government to loosen the rules so that fewer Canadians have to stop and pay duties as they return from a trip to the United States: “The personal exemption issue has been formally raised […]
Resolving the U.S. Fiscal Crisis
The current debate in the United States over their budget deficit and debt does not appear to be generating solutions that will solve their problem anytime soon. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of President Obama’s budget proposals, the deficit under the President’s proposals would at first fall, but after 2015 would begin to […]
America’s Dangerous Debt
The budget turmoil in the United States is certainly attracting a lot of attention and of a kind it is unaccustomed to given its global power status. The International Monetary Fund has just urged the United States to outline credible measures to reduce its budget deficit as well as a plan to reduce its massive […]
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.
Some Economic Underpinnings of the Arc of Protest
Along with the latest news from Bahrain, the public protests, rebellions and uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East that are underway in an arc stretching from Tunisia to Iran have certainly caught the attention of the world. The popular analysis of what is driving these protests has invariably focused on a desire for […]
Organic Milk and Japanese Cars
In the Spring of 2009, the Dairy Farmers of Canada launched the "100% Canadian milk campaign." Products displaying the logo shown on the right are guaranteed to be made with 100% Canadian milk. I'll admit it. As someone who lived through the British BSE outbreak of the 1980s, I'm slightly paranoid about milk safety. I'm […]
Spain, Ireland, and the US. All breaking Okun’s Law.
In my last post I noted that the US was abnormal in comparison to the other G7 countries. In all the other countries GDP fell by more than employment, so labour productivity fell. That's what normally happens in a recession. Okun's Law says so. But US GDP fell by less than employment, so labour productivity […]
US Productivity Exceptionalism
Stephen's got standards. So I'm going to steal his graphs from his last post, and write the post he could easily have written. Before you look at Stephen's graphs, ask yourself this question. How well did the US fare in the Great Recession, in terms of GDP and employment, compared to other G7 countries? Now […]
The Lender of Last Resort
What Paul Krugman is saying about Ireland and the Eurozone is not wrong. But he keeps missing the most important point. And it's bugging me.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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