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…
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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…
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…
This month we celebrate 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. That world-shaking event occurred in part in response to Ronald Reagan’s calling out of Mikhail Gorbatchev: “Mr…
Nobody loves America as Canada does, but you know how the saying goes, to get a friend, be a friend. And in this week’s column for the Globe’s Economy Lab…
In 2006 Nokia was making 40% of the smartphones in the world. Today it makes none, having sold its failing business to Microsoft. Nokia’s home country, Finland, has been reeling…
In this week’s column for the Globe’s Economy Lab feature I have a little fun with words. Specifically I call to order those who erroneously call Google’s dominance in the…
A C.D. Howe paper recently called for Ottawa to keep borrowing and spending up to .5% of GDP rather than to balance the books as Finance Minister Oliver plans to…
In my latest column for the ROB’s Economy Lab feature (in the Globe), I regale readers with the story of what happened when a bureaucrat came into the café my…