Economy

Tax Carbon, Not Meat Part 1: Differentiating Livestock Management Practices
- February 13, 2017
The idea of applying a tax on meat has recently received a lot of attention, both in Canada and internationally. However, the leading proponents of taxing meat make some big assumptions about all meat being “bad” for the climate. …
By Ryan Katz-Rosene
Economy, Environment
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Why We Need Better Central Bank Accountability
- June 16, 2016
As pundits debate whether the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again this summer or fall, we are reminded of just how much of the economy’s direction hinges on central bankers’ decisions.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the power …
By Jacqueline Best
Economy
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Central Banks Facing Credibility Trap
- April 27, 2016
When the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen Poloz, insisted in New York this week, “the idea that monetary policy just isn’t working any more [is] one myth I’d like to dispel right off the top,” he was right …
By Jacqueline Best
Economy
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West Politicizes IMF to Support Ukraine
- December 10, 2015
By Paul Robinson

Power is shifting worldwide. As previously less developed economies grow at a faster rate than those of the West, Western states are becoming relatively less powerful. It is in the West’s interest, therefore, to use the years …
By Paul Robinson
Economy, Europe, Russia, Ukraine
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Rebuilding the Middle Class: The Liberals Have a Chance to Rectify their Past Economic Mistakes
- November 5, 2015
By Jacqueline Best

After a decade under a Conservative leadership that actively undermined the government’s capacity to conduct research, Canadians have elected a government that has promised to base its policies on evidence.

Yet, if the new Liberal government wants …
By Jacqueline Best
Economy
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Canada Would Be Foolish Not to Join the TPP
- October 1, 2015
A few days ago, cows and their owners were marching in front of Parliament in Ottawa. They were protesting against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which, they argued, would cause the demise of the dairy industry’s supply management regime. Last week, …
By Patrick Leblond
Economy, International Trade
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D-Day for Greece is Coming Fast
- June 12, 2015
For months, the Greek government (run by the neophyte left-wing Syriza party), its euro-area partners, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been engaged in negotiations about payment of the last tranche of an existing bail-out program. In exchange for …
By Patrick Leblond
Economy, Europe
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Canada Needs to Do a Better Job of Managing Financial Uncertainty
- June 5, 2015
Published in the Hill Times, May 25, 2015

As Canadians, we pride ourselves on how well our financial regulations coped with the 2008 financial crisis. Given this attitude, it’s not surprising that Canadian policymakers have avoided a major overhaul …
By Jacqueline Best
Economy
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How Do Global Norms Bear on Reconciliation with Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples?
- June 3, 2015
This week, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired by Justice Murray Sinclair, released its preliminary findings from a five-year inquiry into the terrible era of residential schools for Aboriginal children in Canada. These findings, and the surrounding public discussion, touched …
By Natalie Brender
Economy, Indigenous Peoples, United Nations
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What Counts as Policy Failure — And Why it Matters
- March 6, 2015
When things go wrong in politics, the word ‘failure’ gets bandied around a lot. In recent weeks, we’ve heard about the failure of Canadian drug policy (as admitted by Stephen Harper), the failure of Canadian diplomatic efforts to get Barack …
By Jacqueline Best
Economy, International Development
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Is the Global Partnership Ready for Action?
- February 25, 2015
The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation was born at a global conference held in Busan, Korea in 2011 to confront concerns that old-fashioned aid (ODA) was not working. Billions were being spent and the Global South’s poor and vulnerable …
By John Sinclair
Economy, International Development
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The Global Backstory to the Ebola Outbreak
- February 12, 2015
With Ebola abating in the three most affected countries (Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea) there are now ex post reflections on what went wrong. There is much that did.

We can first ask why these countries were unable to deal …
By Ronald Labonte
Africa, Economy, Health
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