Category Livio Di Matteo
Great Recession Versus Great Depression for Canada
With all the doom and gloom with respect to slowing Canadian economic growth and talk of secular stagnation, it is useful to look at a comparison between the last few years in Canada with what transpired during the Great Depression. References are often made that the 2008-09 Recession and its aftermath is a period comparable […]
What Happened to Historical Statistics of Canada?
For whatever reason, Statistics Canada has changed the nature of the access to its web version of Historical Statistics of Canada. Until recently, the electronic version of this classic work of data (with paper editions published in 1965 and 1983) covering Canada from 1867 to the mid 1970s provided the tables of the assorted sections […]
The Growth of the Local Public Sector
The rising expense of local government services is increasingly capturing the attention of pundits and policy makers alike. The rising cost of policing and fire services in particular and their effects on local budgets and ratepayers, has drawn the attention of Canadian municipal leaders. What is also interesting is the overall growth in local government […]
Ontario and Its Neighbours
I suppose I have become somewhat obsessed with Ontario’s economy and its performance but here I go again with a few comparisons. Ontario is strategically located on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence waterway adjacent to the huge population of the US northeast. Its neighbours are trade partners and markets as well as economic competitors. How does […]
The Federal Deficit: A Long Term View
In honour of the 2015 Federal Budget and the balancing of the budget, why not a retrospective on Canadian federal government deficits since 1867. In the period from 1867 to 2014, the Federal government has run a deficit in 108 out of 148 years or 73 percent of the time. In nominal terms, the federal […]
Fiscal Ships
“We're two ships that pass in the night, And we smile when we say it's alright We're still here, It's just that we're out of sight Like those ships that pass in the night” Barry Manilow Next week is a double-header of sorts for economists interested in Canadian public finance – a Federal budget on […]
SSHRC Grant Trends in Economics
Well, the past week saw notifications go out to academic economists on the results of their 2014-15 Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Grant applications. Needless to say, there will be a lot of unhappy campers but then there always are when it comes to grant application success. Needless to say, […]
Funding and the Future of Ontario Universities
Well, the Council of Ontario Universities or COU is looking for a new President and CEO. The role of COU is to serve as a voice for the province’s university sector and help improve the public policies that affect the sector. As the ad for the position states: “As a member-based organization, COU provides the […]
A Resource Bust and Yet…
The OECD has cut its growth forecast for Canada citing the drop in oil and commodity prices. With all the talk about the slowdown in the Canadian economy picking up steam and slow growth as a result of the drop in oil prices that began last spring, one might expect some job losses to start […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
Ontario Budget Commentary
Well, another Ontario budget has come and gone. The government still plans to balance its budget by 2017. According to the budget projections it will do this largely by increasing revenues and restricting expenditure growth.