Keynes-Hayek Smackdown
Here's a new video from Russ Roberts explaining the differences between the ideas of J.M. Keynes and F.A. Hayek... in a manner the kids can understand.
Paul Samuelson on The U.S. Dollar
I came across this post from Paul Samuelson, a name known to all economist and economics students from his textbook and -By rob on 2009-06-15
Bank of Canada Statistics
In some work I was doing this morning, I thought the Bank of Canada had some interesting statistics. I'm particularly interested in the numbers regarding expectations: 20% of firms expect price increases of 1-3% over the next six months.22% of firms expect inflation over the next six months to exceed 2%.-By rob on 2009-06-13
Unconventional Monetary Policy
The Bank of Canada posted a speech by John Murray (deputy governor) on the need for unconventional monetary policy during the current economic crisis. Three instruments he highlights are the following:-By rob on 2009-06-13
Pay Day Loans in Alberta
In the book Why the Poor Pay More, Gregory Squires discusses how predatory lending occurs via pawnshops and payday loans. Now, it looks like Alberta will begin putting controls on the fees and interest rates that payday lenders charge ("Alberta trgets payday lenders," Calgary Herald, May 18, 2009). -By rob on 2009-06-13
Canadain Versus U.S. Banking Systems
Canadian banks have weathered the current economic crisis much better than their U.S. counterparts. Nick Rowe has suggests the following:
But it doesn’t seem to be as simple as “Canadian banks are more tightly-regulated”. 1. We never had restrictions on interstate banking, so Canadian banks spread their assets and liabilities across Canada. (So it doesn’t matter if a local housing market goes bust).-By rob on 2009-06-13
