Mark Zelmer – Beware The Seduction Of Modern Monetary Theory
From: Mark Zelmer To: Policymakers in Ottawa Date: April 12, 2021 Re: Beware the Seduction of Modern Monetary Theory The massive increase in government spending in Canada and around the world in response to COVID-19 has been accompanied by the siren song of Modern Monetary Theory, the fashionable economic thesis that predates the pandemic. We need to turn a […] S3 E8: Strengthening Canada’s Childcare System
With vaccinations ramping up, our attention turns to the post-pandemic recovery. But how can the country recover without women in the workforce? Dr. Jennifer Robson of Carleton University and McGill’s Ken Boessenkool tell Michael Hainsworth that now is not the time to build a national childcare program from scratch, but work needs to begin now […] Recovery and Stability: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2021
Tough Choices Needed to Prevent Fiscal Meltdown: C.D. Howe Institute’s Federal Shadow Budget The Federal Government’s spending and borrowing cushioned the impact of COVID-19 on Canada’s economy, but have put national finances on an unsustainable path. The upcoming budget must make tough choices to put Canada on a path back to fiscal stability. As the […] Tough Choices Needed To Prevent Fiscal Meltdown: C.D. Howe Institute’s Federal Shadow Budget
The Federal Government’s spending and borrowing cushioned the impact of COVID-19 on Canada’s economy, but have put national finances on an unsustainable path. The upcoming budget must make tough choices to put Canada on a path back to fiscal stability. As the health crisis…Kronick, Laurin – Capital Gains On Housing Won’t Cool The Market
From: Jeremy M. Kronick and Alexandre Laurin To: Real Estate Watchers Date: April 8, 2021 Re: Capital Gains on Housing Won’t Cool the Market The housing market is hot, and has been for several years, especially in Canada’s largest cities. Many policy attempts and proposals have been made to slow it down, almost always focusing on the demand side. […] Stabile, Baker – How The Canada Child Benefit Is Performing
From: Mark Stabile and Michael Baker To: Child Poverty Watchers Date: April 7, 2021 Re: How the Canada Child Benefit is Performing While poverty afflicts many demographic groups, child poverty is typically viewed with particular concern. There is international consensus around the idea that early life experiences can have a disproportionate impact on adult socioeconomic outcomes and governments around […] Only true global consensus can guide the design of effective COVID-19 vaccine passports – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Every day, more and more Canadians are getting vaccinated, and every day, there is more and more hope that normal daily life and activities might resume soon. To enable international travel and accelerate the return of such activities at home, many countries are considering or have implemented “immunity passports” of some kind to people who pose a lower risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19 infection.
In Israel, where more than half of the population is fully vaccinated, “green pass” holders are either fully inoculated or have presumed immunity after recovering from infection. Iceland was the first country in Europe to issue “immunity passports” to those who have recovered from infection or been fully…
Beware the siren song of Modern Monetary Theory – Financial Post Op-Ed
The massive increase in government spending in Canada and around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a siren song in the form of a new economic theory: “Modern Monetary Theory,” or MMT for short. But as we begin to emerge from the acute phase of the pandemic we need to turn a deaf ear to that song. Now that inflation concerns are beginning to stir it is hard to imagine governments raising taxes or cutting spending anytime soon to keep inflation in check — yet that’s how MMT advocates would control inflation, with what traditionally have been regarded as fiscal policies rather than the customary monetary tools of interest rates and liquidity measures.
As I point out with my co-author,…
Don Drummond on BNN – Federal Shadow Budget
Don Drummond, Fellow-in-Residence at the C.D. Howe Institute and co-author of the Institute’s federal shadow budget, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss policy recommendations for the Federal Government.
Ambler, Kronick, Robson – A Welcome Retreat By The Bank Of Canada
From: Steve Ambler, Jeremy M. Kronick, and William B.P. Robson To: Bank of Canada Watchers Date: April 6, 2021 Re: A Welcome Retreat by the Bank of Canada On March 23, the Bank of Canada announced the upcoming suspension of some of its major asset-purchase programs. This is good news. Financial stresses at the beginning of the […] William B.P. Robson – Is Inflation Back? In The End, It’s A Question Of Politics
From: William B.P. Robson To: Canadians Concerned about Inflation Date: April 5, 2021 Re: Is Inflation Back? In the End, it’s a Question of Politics Suddenly, inflation is in the news. In Canada and abroad, spending is surging and COVID-impaired production is struggling to keep up. Key commodities – oil, lumber and metals – are expensive. It is front-of-mind […] Quebec Can Show The Way On Childcare
Based on data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey adapted by Institut de la statistique du Québec we examined employment rates for mothers aged 25 to 54 with a child under the age of 6; those most likely to have used Quebec’s reduced-contribution daycare program. In 1996, prior to its introduction, Quebec’s employment rate of mothers aged 25 to […]