Category Stephen Gordon
Economy Lab: Why economic forecasting goes awry
My first post at the Globe and Mail's new Economy Lab site is now up.
This is why we can’t have nice things
A disconcerting trend is establishing itself in Canadian politics. Political parties are showing essentially no interest in the merits of a policy proposal beyond its potential as an element of some shrewd communications strategy.
Is the stimulus program already being phased out?
The federal government won't be bringing its 2011-12 budget down until at least four months from now, but there's already some discussion about just when its fiscal stimulus should be phased out. The government's current line is that the infrastructure program will end on March 31 as planned, with perhaps a certain amount of wiggle […]
Five years of Worthwhile Canadian Initiative
The first WCI post was written five years ago today. Since then, the number of bloggers posting here has increased to four and more than 1,000 other posts have been published, along with some 17,000 comments. I take a certain satisfaction in these numbers, so I'm going to indulge in a meta-post below the fold.
Productivity and real wages revisited
Before the recession hit, the overriding concern for the Canadian macroeconomy was our poor record of productivity growth. As the recovery progresses, we can expect this discussion to move back to the forefront of policy debates. When we talk about the importance of productivity, the point is invariably made that increasing output per worker is […]
Some implications of thinking of trade as a form of technology
Mike's post reminding us of the wonderful story of the Iowa car crop – and its message that trade is best thought of as a form of technology – has gotten me thinking about just how powerful an insight this is, and how we probably should be using it more often when we think of […]
The experts weigh in: Four very good commentaries on the census in Canadian Public Policy
The September 2010 issue of Canadian Public Policy has four articles on the census debacle, and they are all very much worth reading. As academic publishing goes, this is a lightening-quick response to a decision that was announced less than three months ago. I strongly encourage you to read them for yourselves: they are relatively […]
Will a voluntary census be more truthful?
From my inbox: [O]ne of my colleagues insists that he does not know of any way to correct for biases in mandatory surveys from outright lying or refusal to answer (in spite of any penalties for doing so), and I had to admit I didn't really know either. Can one easily detect fabricated or implausible […]
On the benefits of full-day kindergarten
This post was written by Kevin Milligan of the Department of Economics at the University of British Columbia. There was a flurry of media coverage earlier this week on the full day kindergarten programs that are being rolled out in BC, Ontario, and PEI. I am here to expand a bit on some of the […]
On the sources of Canada’s recession and recovery
The good news from the latest National Accounts release is that real GDP has recovered its pre-recession peak. In this post, I'm going to review how the Canadian fell into recession, and how it recovered.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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