Op-Eds
Published in the Globe and Mail on December 16, 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.
Events in the world economy, combined with recent data released from the Bank of Canada, reveal why conducting monetary policy is so difficult. We may not need to feel sympathy for Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, but we should at least understand and appreciate how conflicting economic forces can complicate his policy decisions.
The first major force is the massive decline in the world price of oil from $105 (U.S.) a barrel in June to below $60 today. As is the case for most changes in…
Published in the Globe and Mail on September 23, 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.
Last week my friend sent me a link to a short video ranting about our monetary system. I immediately recognized it as another in a large collection of videos I have seen, many of which are sent to me by students pondering the validity of the central messages – which appear quite at odds with the things I say in class.
These videos are filled with so many misconceptions that anyone studying from them would fail an exam in any respectable economics course. Two big monetary myths stand out from the…
Published in the Globe and Mail on August 12, 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. His latest publication is What Now? Addressing the Burden of Canada’s Slow-Growth Recovery.
Canada is mired in a slow-growth recovery because the United States and Europe are still repairing their economies in the wake of enormous financial crises. As I argue in a recently released paper from the C.D. Howe Institute, as long as the global economy remains fragile, Canada will not return to growth rates anywhere near our pre-crisis standard of 3 per cent.
Much research…
Published in the Globe and Mail on February 18, 2014
By Christopher Ragan
My students are often puzzled about the causes of inflation, the relationship between it and “money,” and the concerns over very low inflation. These questions also arise in current public debate. So here are a few pointers on these central macroeconomic topics.
Suppose you collect data from a large group of countries over 30 years. For each country, you measure the average annual inflation rate and the average annual growth rate of the “money supply,” which includes the physical currency in circulation and the total value of bank deposits. You then have a single data point for each country, showing that country’s inflation-money growth…
Published in the Globe & Mail on January 21, 2014
By Christopher Ragan
Next week, Ben Bernanke will step down as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, to be succeeded by Janet Yellen. Although it’s easy to be pessimistic about the U.S. government’s ability to make important decisions, we should all cheer that system’s ability to select its monetary policy leaders. Mr. Bernanke was the perfect choice for the past eight years; Ms. Yellen is an equally appropriate choice for the next four.
The global financial crisis ushered in the world’s deepest and most synchronized recession in more than 60 years. But it was no “normal” recession. People who read their economic history know that financial crises…
