Eric Merkley, Ben Eisen and Kenneth Green examine 8 case studies in carbon pricing from around the world, and assess their economic, environmental and political consequences.
Ben Eisen
Manitoba Health Spending: Still Much Higher Than Average
Per-person healthcare spending in Manitoba is significantly higher than the national average. FC73
The West’s Boom Has Indeed Benefitted the Poor
Ben Eisen shows that economic growth in western Canada has improved the material conditions of low-income individuals and families in the region.
Canada Health Consumer Index 2011
The Canada Health Consumer Index compares the performance of Canada’s ten provincial healthcare systems from the perspective of the consumer.
Featured News
Traditional Teaching is not Obsolete
Artificial intelligence has come a long way. Unlike the rudimentary software of the past, modern-day programs such as ChatGPT are truly impressive. Whether you need a 1,000-word essay summarizing the history of Manitoba, a 500-word article extolling the virtues of...
Ottawa’s Policies Defeat Its Critical Minerals Push
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a recent rush visit to the Saskatchewan Research Council’s experimental rare earth refining facility in Saskatoon. He touted his government’s efforts to promote rare earth discovery, development, and extraction, along with the...
National Post Debate on Minimum Wages
The National Post has two op-eds today arguing for and against higher minimum wages in Canada. They're both worth reading. Unsurprisingly, the debate hinges on the complicated question of whether and to what extent higher minimum wages increase unemployment. Jim...
Calling Something “Green” Doesn’t Always Make It So
The worst example of this may have been the heavy subsidization of biofuels, which led to the destruction of huge swaths of rainforests around the world as people cleared the land in an effort to cash in on a government created biofuel bubble.
Public Administration Wage Growth: Comparing rates of wage growth in industries across the Canadian economy (1998-2009)
Between 1998 and 2009, wage growth for federal government public administration workers grew by 59%. This compares to an average rate of wage growth of just 30% across the rest of the economy.
The Trouble with Taxing Top Earners: Postwar economic growth does not demonstrate high top rates are harmless
Drastically higher taxes on the rich are not the right response to growing income inequality in Canada.
Growth in U.S. Occupational Licensing Requirements
A neat post at the economics blog Marginal Revolution shows that the percentage of workers in the United States who are required to hold a state license to do their job has steadily increased over the years.
New Column on Upper-Income Tax Rates
My most recent column is posted at Troy Media's website. Here, I oppose proposals to introduce very high taxes on high-income earners in the 70-80% range. I think the introduction of these kinds of stratospheric tax rates would be a disaster, and would wind up...
Responses to Mallick’s Childcare Column
Heather Mallick has a column in The Toronto Star today blasting the federal government’s childcare policy. I have a few comments to make in response to various points that she raises. I’ll post quotations from the column in italicized block quotes, followed by my responses in a regular font.
Toronto Star Comes Out Against Government Funded Arenas
The Star has an editorial today opposing the use of public funds to construct sports arenas. I've seen liberal, conservative and centrist commentators all opposing this absurd waste of money but I've seen very few (if any) efforts to defend the planned wave of...
KFC > Chairman Mao
Apparently, KFC is absolutely booming in China. They love the stuff over there. The most amazing line from this story : In China, KFC has achieved such dominance over McDonald’s and local rivals that Colonel Harland Sanders’s image is a far more common sight in many...