Category Stephen Gordon
The SEC case no one is talking about…
This post was written by Simon van Norden of HEC-Montréal. The news last week that the SEC was filing charges against Goldman Sachs was a bombshell; it dominated the day's headlines and continues to fill blog-space. As it happens, that announcement came the same day as a report that the SEC would prefer that everyone […]
It’s game on at the Bank of Canada
Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1/4 per cent; removes conditional commitment. Now what? The Bank of Canada tries to avoid surprises when it can, and increasing interest rates when it has made a commitment not to would constitute a surprise. So removing the commitment – which itself it not much of a […]
A new addition to the Canadian economics blogroll
Stephen Williamson has started a blog, and has hit the ground running: I count 12 posts since his first post on April 2. Although his current position is at Washington University in St Louis MO, a quick glance at his bio page will explain why I have no compunction about claiming him as one of […]
The outlook for long-term unemployment
Does anyone remember the Employment Insurance psychodramas of last spring and summer? Threats were made, deadlines given, and lines were drawn in the sand. It all ended up in a temporary extension of benefits, and the issue went away. Although almost all of the noise was made about reducing the EI eligibility requirements, the real […]
Comparing the HST with retail sales taxes
These notes on the HST and how it compares to the old retail sales tax were prepared by Frances Woolley. There are two fundamental differences between the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and the old provincial sales tax or Retail Sales Tax (RST or PST). The first difference between the taxes is the tax base. […]
The fiscal stimulus may well have been ineffective. But that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a good idea.
A flurry of punditry has been provoked by a Fraser Institute thingy claiming that the federal government's fiscal stimulus program has had essentially no effect on the Canadian economy. (Question: why do they insist so much on the fact that they use numbers from Statistics Canada? Where do they usually get their national accounts data? […]
In which I applaud the Nova Scotia budget
I don't follow what happens in Nova Scotia all that closely, but since the budget brought down by its new-ish NDP government reproduces the main features of the Quebec budget (of which I approved), it seems only fair to give credit where credit is due. To summarise: An increase in the HST by two percentage […]
Should Canadian investors go shopping in the US?
This piece caught my attention over the weekend: Here's why Canadian investors should go shopping in the US: U.S. stocks have been discounted, and with a strong Canadian dollar there are bargains to be had. Now, WCI is most definitely not the place you turn to for financial advice, but there are some things going […]
Celebrating pointlessness: minimum wage edition
The minimum wage in Ontario went up today, and Jim Stanford thinks that it's cause for celebration. I'm not sure why. I'm guessing that he – as does the editorial board of the Toronto Star – believes that a higher minimum wage will help reduce poverty. Sadly, this belief is mistaken. As I noted earlier […]
The Quebec budget: Will good economics be good politics?
The media are reporting that economists are singing the praises of the Quebec budget, and if asked, I'd add my voice to that chorus. This is the work of adults who take their responsibilities seriously, and the Charest government is to be congratulated for finally paying attention to what economists have been telling successive governments […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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