Amid avalanche of lost jobs, confusion reigns about EI eligibility: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
The brunt of Canada’s economic woes is falling on a few resource-based provinces. This avalanche of lost employment – Alberta lost 10,000 jobs in January – calls for a close look at our employment-insurance system, which maintains regional inequities by treating some workers much more generously than others.
As the first layer of Canada’s social safety net, EI gives recently laid-off workers some income stability and acts as an economic stabilizer. Do enough of these workers obtain access to benefits? For the most part, yes, but coverage could still improve.
EI eligibility is broadly misunderstood, which generates a fragmented, unruly policy discussion on how to improve the program. Confusion reigns partly…
Job One is Jobs: Workers Need Better Policy Support and Stronger Skills
Canada’s policy makers should focus on four priorities to spur growth in Canada’s economy, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Job One is Jobs: Workers Need Better Policy Support and Stronger Skills,” author Craig Alexander outlines the key policy priorities that will reduce Canada’s labour market vulnerabilities. Students in Jeopardy: An Agenda for Improving Results in Band-Operated Schools
Major reforms are needed to address Canada’s failing reserve schools, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Students in Jeopardy: An Agenda for Improving Results in Band-Operated Schools,” authors Barry Anderson and John Richards provide a blueprint to reverse the high drop-out rates in reserve schools. Canada needs policies that encourage business investment: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
What’s the bad-news Canadian economic story of 2015? The collapse in oil prices is hammering activity in the West. Even worse is how retrenchment in the oil patch, which had boosted national business investment after the 2008-09 slump, is revealing woefully weak capital spending elsewhere in the country.
In a modern economy, prosperity depends vitally on capital spending by businesses. When Canadian businesses invest in plants and equipment, they equip workers with technology that makes them more productive, and, ultimately, better paid. The bad news is that even outside the oil patch – including in Central Canada, which we need to lead the way in this lower-energy-price environment – investment per worker is anemic and has been…
A Crisis of Capital: Canadian Workers Need More Tools, Buildings and Equipment
For the first time since the 2008-2009 economic crisis and recession, capital investment by business has declined, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “A Crisis of Capital: Canadian Workers Need More Tools, Buildings and Equipment,” authors Benjamin Dachis, William B.P. Robson and Aaron Jacobs show that, after several years of improvements in […] We studied teachers’ pay in Canada. What we found will surprise you.
New research shows no clear relationship between province-wide student assessment results and relative teacher pay in Canada’s six largest provinces. What does this mean for provinces with highly paid teachers, like Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta? Click the following link to read the full report, “Value for Money? Teacher Compensation and Student Outcomes in Canada’s Six Largest Provinces.”
Intelligence Minute – Colin Busby on the lack of relationship between teacher pay and student outcomes
New research shows no clear relationship between province-wide student assessment results and relative teacher pay in Canada’s six largest provinces. What does this mean for provinces with highly paid teachers, like Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta? Click the following link to read the full report, “Value for Money? Teacher Compensation and Student Outcomes in Canada’s Six Largest Provinces.”
The Effect of First Nations Modern Treaties on Local Income
Modern treaties have boosted incomes in First Nation communities and have led to more resource development, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute Report. In “The Effect of First Nations Modern Treaties on Local Income,” author Fernando M. Aragón shows that, beyond bettering First Nations economically, there are material benefits for resource companies and neighbouring […] Andrew Parkin: The skills paradox: National Post Op-Ed
By Andrew Parkin
How can Canada get the skills boost it needs to stay competitive? For many, the answer lies in pressuring our colleges and universities to do more to ensure that graduates are equipped with the skills employers need. A closer look at the evidence on adult literacy in Canada shows that our most pressing skills gaps lie elsewhere.
Canadians have grown accustomed to hearing that their provincially run education systems are among the best in the world. That’s why Canada’s less-than-stellar scores in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) 2013 study of adult literacy was so jarring. It seems logical to expect high achievement in education to translate into high performance on skills…
Underperforming Adults? The Paradox of Skills Development in Canada
Canada’s lacklustre performance on the OECD’s test of adult literacy, numeracy and problem solving has raised questions about the quality of provincial education systems, but the explanation for the poor scores lies elsewhere, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Underperforming Adults? The Paradox of Skills Development in Canada,” author Andrew Parkin determines the […] Nous Avons étudié La Rémunération Des Enseignants Au Canada. Ce Que Nous Avons Découvert Vous Surprendra.
Il n’existe aucune relation claire entre les résultats des évaluations des élèves à l’échelle provinciale et la rémunération relative des enseignants dans les six plus importantes provinces canadiennes, selon une nouvelle étude de l’Institut C.D. Howe. Dans « En avons-nous pour notre argent? La rémunération des enseignants et les résultats pour les élèves dans les six […] Economist Adam Smith’s greatest legacy is his balanced approach: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in the Globe and Mail on June 16, 2015
By Christopher Ragan
Christopher Ragan is an associate professor of economics at McGill University in Montreal and a research fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto.
If Adam Smith were still alive, he would be having a birthday today, June 16. The man credited for founding the discipline of economics was a man of curiosity, vision and wisdom. Smith’s insights about the functioning – and malfunctioning – of markets are still valid, and deserve to be repeated and celebrated.
Born in 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, he became a professor of moral philosophy and a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. At the age of 36, he published …