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In the context of Ontario’s upcoming June 7 election, I just finalized an article on the CCPA’s “Behind the Numbers” blog, exploring the fiscal plans of the three major political parties from a historical and comparative context. I concluded that while the Ontario election offers voters three distinct fiscal visions, it is also true that […]
Posted by Edgardo Sepulveda under fiscal policy, income distribution, Liberal Party policy, NDP, Ontario.
May 29th, 2018
Comments: none
I recently wrote a ‘top 10’ overview blog post about the 2018 Saskatchewan budget. Following on the heels of that, I’ve now written an opinion piece about the budget’s announcement of a phase out a rental assistance program for low-income households. Points raised in the opinion piece include the following: -Across Saskatchewan, rental vacancy rates […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, health care, homeless, housing, income, income distribution, income support, Indigenous people, inequality, labour market, oil and gas, potash, poverty, resources, social policy, unemployment.
May 2nd, 2018
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I’ve written a ‘top 10’ blog post about the recently-tabled Saskatchewan budget. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -This year’s budget was quite status quo. -Last year’s budget, by contrast, included a series of cuts to social spending. Last year’s budget also announced cuts to both personal and corporate income taxes that […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under budgets, corporate income tax, debt, deficits, homeless, housing, income distribution, income tax, Indigenous people, inequality, international trade, manufacturing, oil and gas, potash, poverty, resources, Saskatchewan, social policy, taxation.
April 20th, 2018
Comments: none
Yesterday I spoke on a panel discussion on economic inequality, along with Andrew Jackson and Armine Yalnizyan. We were guests at the federal NDP’s policy convention in Ottawa. The panel was moderated by Guy Caron. Topics covered included the minimum wage, basic income, affordable housing, the future of jobs, gender budgeting, poverty among seniors, Canadian […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, budgets, Canada, Child Care, debt, deficits, demographics, economic thought, education, federal budget, feminist economics, fiscal policy, free markets, gender critique, guaranteed annual income, health care, homeless, housing, income, income distribution, income support, income tax, Indigenous people, inequality, labour market, minimum wage, NDP, NEO-LIBERAL POLICIES, Nordics, OECD, part time work, political economic thought, population aging, poverty, privatization, progressive economic strategies, public infrastructure, public services, Role of government, seniors, social policy, taxation, unemployment, unions, women, working time.
February 18th, 2018
Comments: none
On November 17, the working group of the Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) sponsored a one-day workshop at the University of Alberta. The event’s main purpose was to discuss recent developments in Alberta public policy, as well as expectations for the upcoming Alberta budget. Twenty speakers presented in total. In light of what was discussed at […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Alberta, budgets, Child Care, cities, demographics, education, employment, environment, fiscal federalism, fiscal policy, gender critique, homeless, housing, HST, income, income distribution, income support, Indigenous people, inflation, minimum wage, municipalities, NDP, oil and gas, poverty, privatization, progressive economic strategies, Role of government, social policy, taxation, wages, women.
November 29th, 2017
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In this second of a series of housing-related posts I analyze the income and geographic distribution of renter-occupied households in the City of Toronto. My first post focussed on affordability and inequality trends by analyzing time series (2001-16) data for Ontario by household income quintiles. As a complement, this blog studies the income and geographic […]
Posted by Edgardo Sepulveda under cities, GTA, homeless, housing, income, income distribution, inequality, poverty, StatCan, Toronto.
September 20th, 2017
Comments: none
Oxford University Press has recently released the second edition of Social Policy in Canada, co-authored by the father-daughter duo of Ernie Lightman and Naomi Lightman. I recommend this book as an excellent resource for students of social policy. It will be useful for classroom instruction, while also being a handy reference for researchers, persons who […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under Alberta, BC, budgets, Canada, child benefits, Child Care, Conservative government, demographics, education, election 2015, employment, Harper, housing, income, income distribution, income support, income tax, inequality, PEF, population aging, post-secondary education, poverty, privatization, progressive economic strategies, public services, Role of government, Saskatchewan, seniors, social policy, taxation, unemployment, user fees, workplace benefits.
September 11th, 2017
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I dedicate this post to the memory of Bonnie Briggs, who died earlier this month, in honour of her lifelong and tireless work on housing and homeless issues in Toronto. In this first of a series of housing-related posts I analyze rental housing expenditures for low-income households in Ontario. Rent is the single largest expenditure […]
Posted by Edgardo Sepulveda under homeless, housing, income distribution, inequality, Ontario, regulation, Toronto.
August 22nd, 2017
Comments: 1
Richard Florida’s new book, The New Urban Crisis (Basic Books, 2017) takes a careful look at rising inequality in big cities in the United States. He details the fact that many of the winners of today’s economy, the top 1% and top 10%, are located in a small number of “superstar” cities such as New […]
Posted by Andrew Jackson under cities, housing, income distribution, inequality.
June 20th, 2017
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I’ve just written a blog post about the fiscal situation of Canada’s ‘oil rich’ provinces (i.e., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador). It consists of a summary of key points raised at a PEF-sponsored panel at this year’s Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -The […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Alberta, Balanced budgets, budgets, corporate income tax, corporate profits, debt, deficits, economic growth, economic thought, employment, energy, fiscal policy, heterodox economics, homeless, housing, income, income distribution, income support, income tax, Indigenous people, industrial policy, inequality, labour adjustment, labour market, Newfoundland and Labrador, oil and gas, PEF, poverty, progressive economic strategies, public services, Role of government, Saskatchewan, social policy, taxation, transportation, unemployment.
June 19th, 2017
Comments: 1
I’ve just written a blog post about social assistance in Canada. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Social assistance has two contradictory objectives: 1) to give people enough money to live on; and 2) to not give people enough money to live on. -Very few immigrants receive social assistance (relative to the […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Alberta, Austerity, BC, economic history, economic thought, fiscal federalism, fiscal policy, homeless, housing, immigration, income, income distribution, income support, Indigenous people, NEO-LIBERAL POLICIES, Ontario, poverty, public services, Role of government, social indicators, social policy, unemployment.
May 9th, 2017
Comments: none
Allan Moscovitch and I have co-authored a blog post that looks at the history of child benefits in Canada. Points made in the blog post include the following: -Child benefits can reduce both poverty and homelessness. -When child benefits began in Canada after World War II, one major motivating factor for the federal government was […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Austerity, child benefits, Conservative government, demographics, economic history, economic thought, fiscal federalism, fiscal policy, Harper, Harper economics, history of economic thought, homeless, income, income distribution, income support, Indigenous people, labour market, poverty, Role of government, social policy, women.
April 30th, 2017
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I have an opinion piece on Saskatchewan’s recent budget in the Regina Leader-Post. Points raised in the opinion piece include the following: -Reductions in personal and corporate income taxes help the rich more than the poor (and this budget cut both personal and corporate income taxes). -Increases in sales tax hurt the poor more than […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Austerity, budgets, Child Care, corporate income tax, debt, deficits, economic growth, economic models, economic thought, employment, fiscal policy, health care, income, income distribution, income support, income tax, Indigenous people, inequality, NEO-LIBERAL POLICIES, population aging, post-secondary education, poverty, public infrastructure, public services, Saskatchewan, social policy, taxation, unemployment.
April 23rd, 2017
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This year’s Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) was released on March 9. I was proud to be the primary author of its housing chapter (that chapter is available in English here and in French here). The first AFB exercise began in 1994, with the first AFB being published in 1995. That involved a joint effort between […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Alberta, Austerity, Bank of Canada, banks, BC, budgets, debt, deficits, democracy, economic crisis, economic growth, economic history, economic literacy, economic models, economic thought, employment, federal budget, feminist economics, fiscal policy, gender critique, housing, income distribution, income tax, Indigenous people, inequality, inflation, interest rates, labour market, macroeconomics, Manitoba, monetary policy, NDP, NEO-LIBERAL POLICIES, Nova Scotia, Ontario, party politics, poverty, progressive economic strategies, public infrastructure, public services, Quebec, Role of government, Saskatchewan, social policy, stimulus, taxation, unemployment, women.
March 20th, 2017
Comments: none
Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’m co-author of a blog post titled “Poverty Reduction in Alberta.” Points raised in the blog post include the following: -The NDP government of Premier Rachel Notley has undertaken important poverty-reduction initiatives since forming a government in 2015. -Alberta (relative to other provinces) has a […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Alberta, child benefits, Child Care, corporate income tax, debt, early learning, fiscal federalism, fiscal policy, homeless, housing, income distribution, income support, income tax, Indigenous people, inequality, minimum wage, NDP, poverty, social policy, taxation, women, working time.
February 17th, 2017
Comments: 2
Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’m co-author of a blog post titled “The Federal Role in Poverty Reduction.” Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Canada’s Minister of Families, Children and Social Development has been tasked to lead the development of a Canada Poverty Reduction Strategy. -Total public […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Balanced budgets, child benefits, Child Care, corporate income tax, CPP, debt, deficits, early learning, economic thought, federal budget, fiscal federalism, fiscal policy, homeless, housing, income distribution, income support, income tax, Indigenous people, inequality, labour market, macroeconomics, OECD, Old Age Security, poverty, privatization, public infrastructure, public services, Role of government, social policy, taxation, women.
February 8th, 2017
Comments: 1
Over at the Behind the Numbers web site, Allan Moscovitch, David Macdonald and I have a blog post titled “Ten Things to Know About Federal Income Support for Low-Income Seniors in Canada.” The blog post argues—among other things—that if the age of eligibility for Old Age Security were to move from 65 to 67, the […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, budgets, Canada, Conservative government, CPP, demographics, economic history, election 2015, federal budget, Federal elections 2015, fiscal federalism, Harper economics, income distribution, income support, Indigenous people, inequality, labour market, Old Age Security, older workers, pensions, population aging, poverty, retirement, Role of government, seniors, social policy.
August 29th, 2016
Comments: none
We are pleased to present this rich guest post by a new PEF member, Edgardo Sepulveda. Edgardo has been a consulting economist for more than two decades advising Governments and operators in more than 40 countries on telecommunications policy and regulation matters (www.esepulveda.com). Redistribution, Inequality and the new Federal Tax & Transfer initiatives I want […]
Posted by Jim Stanford under child benefits, fiscal federalism, income distribution, income tax, inequality, liberals, taxation.
January 20th, 2016
Comments: 3
We’re coming up to a Federal Election, and one where “The Economy” will likely be a central battlefield. As such, we’re going to hear many claims and counter-claims that support the view that Stephen Harper is either the Greatest or Worst Prime Minister ever. One point of contention is wages. Part of the problem are??the […]
Posted by Angella MacEwen under income, income distribution, inequality.
June 19th, 2015
Comments: 1
Inequality, the Financial Crisis and Stagnation: Competing Stories and Why They Matter Thomas Palley There exists several mainstream explanations of the financial crisis and stagnation, each explaianing the role they respectively attribute to income inequality. Those explanations contrast deeply with a structural Keynesian explanation of the crisis. The role of income inequality also differs substantially, […]
Posted by Louis-Philippe Rochon under financial crisis, income distribution, inequality.
June 10th, 2015
Comments: 1
The Harper government gives five reasons why Canadians ought to be happy with its proposal to double the maximum contribution to the Tax-Free Savings Account. Examine each of its points more closely, however, and it’s clear that the TFSA carries far higher risks than rewards for individual Canadians as well as for the economy as […]
Posted by Armine Yalnizyan under Conservative government, democracy, income distribution, inequality, population aging, Role of government, seniors, taxation, TFSA.
March 2nd, 2015
Comments: 2
My debate with Alex Usher on tuition fees continues, over at the Academic Matters web site.?? In my latest post, I make the case that Mr. Usher needs to consider Canada’s tax system when suggesting that reducing tuition fees is “regressive.” Enjoy and share:
Posted by Nick Falvo under Child Care, education, health care, income distribution, labour market, Ontario, post-secondary education, social policy, student debt, student movement, user fees, young workers.
May 20th, 2014
Comments: none
This piece was originally published at the Globe and Mail’s online Report on Business feature, EconomyLab. ?? There are two reasons why it is difficult to comment on the legacy of a finance minister. 1) It is a tremendously challenging job, anywhere, any time. Stewarding one of the largest economies in the world through a […]
Posted by Armine Yalnizyan under budgets, Conservative government, deficits, federalism, fiscal federalism, global crisis, housing, IMF, income distribution, income tax, inequality, macroeconomics, OECD, public infrastructure, Role of government, StatCan, stimulus, taxation, TFSA, World Bank.
March 20th, 2014
Comments: 11
Yesterday I tweeted this: <blink> Gap will raise minimum hourly pay Walmart “looking” at support of min wage raise In honour of the momentum, I am posting the piece I wrote for Economy Lab a while back, and including the numbers that drive the chart that attracted quite a lot of attention. There is a […]
Posted by Armine Yalnizyan under capitalism, income distribution, inequality, minimum wage, Uncategorized, wages.
February 21st, 2014
Comments: 4
Yesterday’s?release from Statistics Canada?on the income share of the wealthy generated some interesting coverage and commentary. ?It reported that the top 1%’s share of total income in Canada remained steady in 2011 in Canada, at 10.6 percent — but still significantly higher than in the 1980s. Most observers did not mention, however, that this oft-cited […]
Posted by Jim Stanford under capitalism, income distribution, taxation.
December 10th, 2013
Comments: 4
This piece was??first published??in the Globe and Maila€?s Economy Lab. Five years after a global economic crisis unleashed chaos on markets everywhere, income inequality has become an inescapable political and economic issue, in Canada as elsewhere. Thata€?s because of mounting evidence that the increasingly skewed distribution of gains from economic growth slows future growth potential, […]
Posted by Armine Yalnizyan under Conservative government, economic crisis, financial crisis, income distribution, inequality.
September 19th, 2013
Comments: 1
This piece was ??published??today in the Globe and Mail’s Economy Lab.?? Two findings stand out in the National Household Survey (NHS) data released Wednesday, both critical in this post-recession era of uncertainty: 1)??A quarter of Canadian households spent 30 per cent or more of their pre-tax income on shelter, the official measure of housing affordability. […]
Posted by Armine Yalnizyan under Conservative government, democracy, household debt, housing, income, income distribution, inequality.
September 12th, 2013
Comments: 1
The news of UBC Sauder Business School students chanting about rape of underage girls during a FROSH week event has generated much outrage. As it should. While the chant might seem like an isolated incident, it is not. The recent rape chant scandals in UBC and in St Marya€?s University in Halifax are evidence of […]
Posted by Iglika Ivanova under BC, gender critique, human rights, income distribution, Indigenous people, women.
September 10th, 2013
Comments: none
It has recently been reported that the University of Alberta wants to “reopen two-year collective agreements” with faculty and staff “to help the university balance its budget…” This appears to be in direct response to Alberta’s provincial government announcing in its March budget that there would be a “7% cut to operating grants to universities, […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under Alberta, budgets, corporate profits, education, employment, fiscal policy, income, income distribution, income tax, inequality, post-secondary education, productivity, taxation, unions, wages.
August 7th, 2013
Comments: 2
On Monday, Andrew wrote that we need a Bay Street sunshine list. Today, we got something almost as good: a Fraser Institute sunshine list, courtesy of US tax filings and The Ottawa Citizena€?s Glen McGregor. This piece is a great counterpoint to the Fraser Institutea€?s recent attack on public-sector salaries. I hope it is printed […]
Posted by Erin Weir under Fraser Institute, income distribution, media.
April 4th, 2013
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