Op-Eds
Published in the Globe and Mail on July 1, 2014
By Christopher Ragan
Christopher Ragan is an associate professor of economics at McGill University and a research fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute.
The Canadian economy is still mired in a tepid recovery, with real output growing at a rate well below what we saw before the recession. Canadian investment and exports are lagging far below normal levels, partly because the U.S. economy, although showing intermittent signs of life, continues to face its own recovery challenges. One crucial factor affecting both economies is widespread economic uncertainty.
Uncertainty about the future path of the…
Ontario’s politicians fail voters with pie-in-the-sky economic policies: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in the Globe and Mail on May 19, 2014
By Christopher Ragan
Christopher Ragan is an associate professor of economics at McGill University and a Research Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute.
It is three weeks away from the Ontario election and voters have a real choice. The Liberals and Progressive Conservatives offer starkly different visions of economic policy (while the New Democrats struggle to define their position). Unfortunately, neither vision offers a balanced view of the economic role of government.
Back in the mid-1990s, Paul Martin was the federal finance minister tasked with reducing the federal government’s massive budget deficit. At the time, I heard him…
Published in the Globe & Mail on February 12, 2014
By Alexandre Laurin
An understated highlight of the federal budget was that, for the first time in five years, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has a healthy baseline. His cumulative $45-billion surplus projected over the next five fiscal years would be the envy of most past federal finance ministers, not to mention Mr. Flaherty’s provincial counterparts. That is a situation worth cultivating – the minister’s prudent approach toward that surplus deserves applause.
The budget contained no bold and costly initiatives. It commits $5.7-billion of new spending over five years on small, targeted programs. It put aside $3-billion per year for prudence. And it improved the…
Published in the Globe and Mail on October 18, 2013
By Lawrence Herman
We finally have a deal with Europe, called a comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA).
It took longer than expected and there was a real sense of drift, many thinking that the effort wasn’t going anywhere. But persistence and goodwill seems to have paid off.
The only problem is, we don’t have the text yet. All we have is the outline of an agreement in principle. A lot of what’s being put out by the Prime Minister’s Office has to be accepted on faith.
Judging from the rosy press conference given by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and EU President Jose Barroso earlier Friday, however, the hard negotiations are over and it’…
Housing moves: Canada, U.S. contemplate changes to the way we finance housing: Financial Post Op-Ed
Published in the Financial Post on October 2, 2013
By Finn Poschmann
Last Wednesday Scotiabank sold the first Canadian bonds backed by consumer lines of credit in 12 years. The highly rated issue sold at market, according to a Bloomberg report, at an impressive 78 basis points over similar-term Canadian government bonds.
Critics may worry that such events signal a continuing explosion in household debt and a return of the boom and bust “wild West,” U.S.-style marketplace.
But there is another way to see it. The bonds’ risks will be borne by the issuer and investors, not unwilling and unknowing taxpayers, who back most of the mortgage risk in Canadian and U.S. housing markets.
And change is afoot in the…
