I've got a new op-ed in the Globe, arguing that, to pull away from the US, Canada must look to its immigrants.  The first draft of that article was much longer, and begun with a long discussion of the Smoot-Hawley act. I've reproduced that first draft below: “What ifs” that were unthinkable six months ago […]

While waiting for the kettle to boil in the Economics department lounge, I searched for something – anything – to read. Then I spotted the 1961 Ontario Economic Survey on the departmental bookshelf. Opening the old volume at random, I hit gold:

The Canada Research Chair program has a long-standing gender problem. Way back in 2002, the CRC Secretariat commissioned a gender-based analysis of the program which concluded:  There are several sub-disciplines/fields where women are under represented among the Canada Research Chair nominees. In part, this may be due to the lesser "research maturity" of some disciplines […]

A much higher gasoline tax may currently be a political conversation stopper but fortunately it doesn’t stop conversation in economic policy.   Enter Joel Wood’s paper about higher gasoline taxes for Toronto which appears in the latest issue of Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de Politiques (which I am promoting here as the new editor). Joel also has […]

Very interesting. But was it also stupid? [Update: Here's Hugo Dixon's "snap analysis". (He also deserves a HT.)] Leave aside the political/legal aspects. How would it work? In theory, at least. (Did I really need to add that?) Here are some very quick thoughts:

My head is not clear on this, so this won't be a clear post. 1. Econometricians know of Ronald Fisher as a statistician, but he was also a biologist. I have not read Fisher, but this is how Jeremy Fox explained one of Fisher's ideas to me in comments on one of my old posts […]

The federal government has announced that, once the budget is in balance, its first priority will be "to provide tax relief to hard-working Canadian families."  In 2013, the federal deficit had shrunk to $13 billion. This year it may disappear entirely. But it does not follow that the federal government should cut taxes. The deficit […]

This is a guest post written by frequent WCI commentator Rachel Goddyn: My husband is a math professor. Recently at social gatherings with his fellow academics, there has been a lot of discussion of accommodations for people with disabilities. We have a 30 year old son with intellectual disabilities, and I do lots of volunteer […]

Over the fold is a picture guaranteed to strike fear in the heart of anyone hoping to make money in the textbook industry: