It’s time to open up trade. Even the EU accepts that 90% of global growth will take place outside its group over the next 15 years
No other time in the recent history of British politics has been so turbulent. But the United Kingdom needs to stay the Brexit course. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of lying to the Queen by a Scottish court, the Conservative government has lost its majority and kicked out 21 rebel Tory MPs, opposition…
Unnaturally high growth rates were driven by post-war reconstruction, the baby boom and rising female labour force participation
The single biggest determinant of long-term economic well-being is the rate of economic growth, but our expectations for modern growth may be misplaced. The industrial era, since the early 19th century, has seen powerful economic growth and unprecedented increases in living standards. Growth rates reached their peak in the postwar economic boom from 1945 to…
The rule of law and its protection of property form the bedrock of economic freedom, but pressures from mainland China put those attributes in peril
By James Gwartney and Fred McMahon The Fraser Institute In the Fraser Institute’s latest Economic Freedom of the World ranking, Hong Kong again tops the list as the world’s freest economy. It has occupied this position almost without exception through the past half century – but will it remain there? The foundation for Hong Kong’s…
What’s a recession going to do to the East Coast? Reap what’s left in our mattresses and sock drawers?
Oh, Recession. So there you are. For months, you’ve been rattling about my back door knocking over rubbish bins like a starving raccoon at night. The sun’s up now. No need to be coy. “The escalating trade war between the U.S. and China is nudging the world economy toward its first recession in a decade…
What are the new jobs? How do you train for them? Every old-economy business needs to plan for next-economy transitions
How does work change in an era of climate crisis? What skills will have value and how do we acquire them? What advice do we give young people entering the job market? How do we retrain those whose skills are no longer in demand? What roles do colleges and universities play in this workplace transition?…
As sea ice recedes in the Northwest Passage, new shipping lanes could open that change the world economy
It’s not hard to find opinions on climate change. But however it unfolds, it may yet pay dividends. Radio, television, print media and the Internet provide almost nonstop information on the subject. In Canada, almost all of the information consists of warnings about the harm climate change is expected to cause. In truth, our climate…
GDP also ignores work without pay, the underground economy and plenty of other factors that contribute to our well-being
The ubiquitous use of gross domestic product (GDP), along with its per capita derivative, means we often get away with writing the abbreviation alone. Yet this widespread social proof offers a false sense of accuracy for a fragile measurement overdue for an update. Economists have long been aware of the vulnerabilities to GDP and other…
For survival, central banks have little choice but to enter the digital-currency race. But it’s a race they will eventually lose
Central bankers increasingly sense their obsolescence – and rightly so. The more people turn to private currencies and conduct transactions without intermediaries, the less bureaucrats control the economy. In February 2019, a 33-page Bank of Canada discussion paper unwittingly admitted the vulnerability. The authors, James Chapman and Carolyn Wilkins, noted widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies as…
The results of greater energy efficiency will materialize over the long term, even if politicians seek abbreviated timelines
Jock Finlayson and Denise Mullen Business Council of B.C. Metro Vancouver residents are rightly upset over paying the highest gasoline prices ever recorded in a North American city. Cost-of-living pressures are already significant for many households in British Columbia, making the recent jump in pump prices particularly hard to stomach. The unprecedented attention being given…
Trade sanctions are blunt, costly instruments. They should only be used as a last resort
The first free-trade agreement between China and Canada appears all but dead, derailed by a diplomatic dispute. Canadian consumers and entrepreneurs will suffer as gains from trade fail to materialize. Despite the gravity of Beijing’s many wrongdoings, trade should still proceed between innocent private parties. The opposite tack – broad impediments to trade, even if…