Category Livio Di Matteo
Some Miscellaneous Thoughts on the Economics of Social Interaction
Economics is really all about incentives and their effect on behaviour at the micro and macro level. My training in economics emphasized the role of prices in communicating information about scarcity and opportunity cost and providing the incentives that affect economic behaviour. Yet, all of our economic behaviour is also rooted on an institutional framework […]
Is Health Care Reform Working?
Health care reform in Canada in the wake of the Romanow Royal Commission and the 2004 Health Accord has often been described as a story of missed opportunity with the increases in federal transfer spending not accompanied by desired results. As the review of the 2004 Health Accord by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, […]
Canadian Manufacturing Employment: Growth and Decline (But more decline than growth)
Ontario’s budget will be presented today in the wake of new GDP numbers from Statistics Canada showing that Ontario’s real GDP growth was amongst the poorer performers in the country in 2013 (Quebec, NS, & NB were lower). Manufacturing was again singled out as one of the sectors in which Ontario is doing rather badly […]
Cross Border Shopping Isn’t What it Used to Be
Canadian retailers have recently been concerned that the Canada Border Services Agency has been too lenient with cross-border shoppers in the wake of the increase in duty free limits in 2012. While it is true that cross-border trips have grown substantially over the last decade, I’m not sure they should be that concerned.
Exchange Rates and Gasoline Prices?
Well the price of gasoline just spiked upwards across Canada and the usual media analysis has begun. Five key reasons were summarized as follows by Shawn McCarthy in the Globe and Mail: 1) Approach of the summer driving season leading to a switch to summer gas formulations which leads to a reduction in supply. 2) […]
Health System Efficiency: Saving Money Can Save Lives Too
It turns out that having a more efficient health care system is not just about sustainability or bean counting – it also can save lives.
Differentiating Ontario Universities
Yes, it is April 1st but this post is dead serious. A study was recently done for economics, chemistry and philosophy departments across ten Ontario universities in an effort to gain insight on teaching workloads and research productivity. The reason? Ontario universities are tight for money and the government is looking for productivity gains and […]
Police, Crime and the Great Canadian Crime Drop
It would appear fiscal restraint has finally caught up with police services across the country. The recent release of Police Resources in Canada, 2013 by Statistics Canada documents a decline in police strength after nearly a decade of increases as well as a slowdown in per capita spending. The crime rate, however continues to fall.
Resources, Revenues and Alberta Premiers: The Oil Must Flow!
In Ancient Rome, a key imperial duty was to maintain the flow of grain and gladiatorial entertainment to the masses of Rome. Woe to the Emperor if the flow of grain was interrupted and the entertainment fell in quality. The Empire’s mantra was that the grain must flow! For Alberta premiers, charged with the guardianship […]
Ontario Manufacturing: Not Getting Better Anytime Soon
The Ontario economy’s manufacturing sector was particularly hard hit by the 2009 recession. One measure of whether it is rebounding is to see if there is substantial new investment going into Ontario manufacturing in terms of capital expenditures on construction, machinery and equipment. It does not look very good.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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