MLI hosted a debate earlier this week about whether Canadians should worry about income inequality. One of the common economic fallacies that found its way into the debate was the…
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Thanks to the generosity of the Japanese government I have just returned from two weeks in the land of the rising sun. A fascinating visit that gave me a week’s…
My latest musings for the Globe/ROB’s Economy Lab revolves around the context and significance of the year’s most important budget: Quebec’s. After years of failed attempts, the new Liberal government…
The critics of judicial activism tend to focus on the Supreme Court (SCC) and its individual decisions. I think that’s a mistake. There are systemic forces at work undermining the…
We all know that uncertainty is the great enemy of prosperity, but people often forget why that’s true. Uncertainty’s great cost is that most forms of investment require years to…
One of President Obama’s recent themes in his criticism of the Keystone XL pipeline is the dismissive comment that it will transport “Canadian oil”, as if that were obviously a…
Yes, there is something deeply unattractive about the scold who smugly wallows in others’ debacles because he warned that the worst might happen. On the other hand, sometimes the scold…
Canadians are so used to the economic action being in places like BC and Alberta (and once upon a time in Ontario!) that they have missed the dark horse coming…
Lost in the angst about income inequality is the fundamental point that the poor’s purchasing power is increasing all the time. Innovation is the chief explanation, as I lay out…
Energy East, TransCanada Pipeline’s proposal to bring Alberta crude to the east coast, has a lot to be said for it. Unfortunately, a lot of it is not true! Don’t…