Category Media
Does internet access promote marriage?
Next week at the Canadian Economics Association meetings I'm discussing a provocative paper by Andriana Bellou on the The Impact of Internet Diffusion on Age at First Marriage. The theory behind the model is straight from the e-harmony ads: "I decided to give eHarmony a try after several frustrating attempts to find someone to love, […]
On the meme of the ‘surprisingly short and mild recession’
Two – count 'em – two opinion pieces today in which people pronounce them astounded at how the Not-So-Great-After-All Recession played out: Économie: le syndrome A(H1N1): Une analyse récente de la récession, dans le dernier numéro de l'Observateur économique de Statistique Canada, montre à quel point économistes, politiciens et médias se sont mis le doigt […]
Putting the foreign-ownership cart ahead of the innovation horse
David Olive gets things wrong in his column today. Foreign ownership is not to blame for low levels of productivity and innovation in Canada. A 2005 StatsCan study (pdf) found that "foreign-controlled plants are more productive than domestic-controlled plants" and "are also more innovative, more R&D intensive and use more advanced technologies." Protecting domestic managers […]
Confusing good news with bad: Government procurement edition
Today's entry is courtesy of an op-ed in the Toronto Star; the topic is the deal that exempts Canada from the 'Buy American' provisions of the US stimulus package. Canada gives away the store in return for scraps from U.S.: In return for these meagre scraps, the provinces and municipalities have offered up temporary market […]
In which Maclean’s confuses good news with bad
This week's Maclean's has yet another installment in its series of apocalyptic economics cover stories (not yet on line, as far as I can tell updated: now available here). One of the points it makes is that where households in other countries are reducing their debt loads, Canadians are borrowing and spending more. I'm having […]
A question that business journalists might do well to ask
I have a question that I wish some enterprising business journalist would ask on a regular basis. When various private sector institutions produce their forecasts, could you please ask where those numbers came from? And perhaps ask for some error bands? Because it is my understanding that private sector forecasts are not produced by teams […]
In which I try to answer Jeffrey Simpson’s question
From today's Globe and Mail: A surfeit of rah-rah, a dearth of serious debate: Take the economics profession. Very few economists in the private sector take on the big-picture national issues – the TD Economics unit being a significant exception – preferring instead to analyze the ups and downs of the stock market and this […]
More reasons to support the PBO
Today's National Post has an op-ed written by a couple of Fraser Institute types entitled "Scrap the Parliamentary Budget Office". It's a remarkable piece of rhetoric. Although its stated purpose is to make the case for eliminating the PBO, it ends up demonstrating once again why an effective PBO is so desperately needed.
Yes, the federal government has a structural deficit. But let’s keep it in perspective, shall we?
Don Martin loses it in today's National Post: Clock tallies IOU to next generation: Stephen Harper will join Jean Chretien as only the second prime minister in history to enroll Canada in the half-trillion-dollar national debt club. This is silly. Nominal debt figures from 1995 – when the federal debt first went above $500b – […]
Blogging in Cuba: Generation Y
Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez reports being beaten up and abducted by Cuban…quasi-authorities, for being a "counter-revolutionary" (i.e. having an independent blog). Check out her blog Generation Y.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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