Category Stephen Gordon
Conclusion
Typepad has just informed me that it will be shutting down on September 30, and Worthwhile Canadian Initiative will go down with it. We had a good run.
What explains the weak growth in total factor productivity in non-renewable resource extraction industries?
McMaster University’s Oliver Loertscher and Pau Pujolas have a recent article in the Canadian Journal of Economics entitled “Canadian productivity growth: Stuck in the oil sands”. Here is the abstract: We study the behaviour of Canadian Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth over the past 60 years. We find that the observed stagnation during the last 20 years […]
Movements in income inequality in Canada, 1944-2010
Here are the estimates for the Gini coefficients for Canada, taken from individual tax files (see here for more about where the data came from):
What happened to real incomes in the 1970s?
Here are the estimates for average and median total incomes based on tax file data (see this post for details):
Project Link update: The evolution of the distribution of income in Canada, 1944-2010
Project Link has been updated; the Excel file with the data updated through to June 2021 is available here. I skipped the 2020 update for Project Link for a couple of reasons. There was obviously the distraction of the pandemic, but mainly because I hadn't yet finished the next extension. Every year, I try to […]
Choosing the right target: Real options for the Bank of Canada’s mandate renewal
That's the title of a Max Bell School of Public Policy conference to be held in Montreal on April 30/May 1. I'm quite excited about it. A couple of years ago, I wrote a column scolding the Bank of Canada for the lack of transparency in the mandate renewal process. But after thinking about it […]
What killed real wage growth?
This is the Project Link chart that most startles me: What killed the growth in real wages in the early 1970s? I've been trying to come up with an answer to this question, and I think I have one. I'm not entirely sure that it's the correct answer, but I think it's a plausible conjecture.
Project Link update
It's past time for my annual update for Project Link, my attempt to piece together the fragments of Statistics Canada's published data into coherent time series.
Canada’s Gross Domestic Income and trading gains: An update and estimates for the provinces
This builds off an earlier post about the terms of trade, trading gains, and Gross Domestic Income and it extends the analysis to the provincial level. It's probably a good idea to take a look at it before continuing on.
Carbon taxes and the Marginalists’ difficult idea
This Economists' Statements on Carbon Taxes has been signed by a host of prominent economists: Global climate change is a serious problem calling for immediate national action. Guided by sound economic principles, we are united in the following policy recommendations. I. A carbon tax offers the most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the […]
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