Op-Eds
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 …
Published in the Globe and Mail on December 2nd, 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.
Six weeks ago, I wrote a column defending economists against the allegation that we fill our students’ minds with useless theories. I argued that the content of Economics 101 is invaluable to organizing their thinking and helping them sort through the many economic phenomena they encounter, either in their daily lives or in the news. But my arguments were all about “micro” economics; today I focus on “macro” economics.
Microeconomics is the study of individual markets and the players in those markets.…
Published in the National Post on December 2nd, 2014
By: Colin Busby
Colin Busby is a senior policy analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute.
Canadians’ wellbeing improved last week when the federal government took steps to solidify the future for Canada’s citizen soldiers. Reservists play key roles in meeting Canada’s growing international and domestic security needs, and Ottawa, last Tuesday, announced a low-cost plan to financially support employers of reservists when he or she volunteers for full-time military duty.
Canadian reservists usually participate full-time in the civilian workforce and train part-time as members of the reserve force. But every so often, be it after a natural disaster or during a major…
Published in the National Post on May 21, 2015
By David Johnson
David Johnson is professor of economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and C.D. Howe Education Policy Scholar
Many Ontario elementary teachers are working to rule. This means that standard tests in Grade 3 and Grade 6 have been postponed in schools where teachers are part of the Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario (ETFO).
With no new money to offer teachers, could standardized testing in Ontario be a casualty of the current round of negotiations with teachers? Should the province go further, and agree with the ETFO’s claim that provincial testing or all students in elementary schools is unnecessary? Absolutely not.
The ETFO…
Published in the Globe and Mail on May 13th, 2014
By David Johnson
David Johnson is Professor of Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and Education Policy Scholar at the C.D. Howe Institute.
The proposed recertification of teachers in Alberta announced earlier this month is controversial. Would data from assessments of student learning be useful in measuring teacher effectiveness?
In Alberta there are province-wide assessments of individual student learning in Grade 3, 6 and 9. There are two obvious problems in using these assessments to measure teacher quality.
First, student performance when assessed in Grade 3 and…
