Economy

The dubious case for casinos

Jan 22, 2013
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I got way off my usual research agenda this morning for a business panel on CBC radio. The topic was the economics of casinos, the result of the City of Surrey voting down a new casino proposal. I have often disparagingly compared stock markets to casinos, but in fact I knew relatively little about the… View Article

BC’s Coal Future

Jan 16, 2013
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While much of the attention this week is on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline hearings in Vancouver, another fossil fuel export issue has come into play with proposals to greatly expand coal exports from the Port of Metro Vancouver. Our colleagues, David Green (Economics, UBC) and Kevin Washbrook (Voters Taking Action of Climate Change) have… View Article

A call for courageous leadership from BC parties in 2013

Jan 8, 2013
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As we head towards the May 2013 BC election, what I’d most love to hear from BC’s political leaders is evidence that they are ready to get serious about the defining issues of this era. In particular, I’m going to be looking for real leadership on the issues of climate change and inequality (what we… View Article

State of the BC Economy

Dec 4, 2012
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As we close out 2012, BC finds itself in some precarious economic waters. To recap, a massive housing bubble that built up through the naughties (2000s) finally burst in 2008, feeding a financial crisis, as extremely loose (some would say fraudulent) lending practices pushed housing prices up to spectacular, never-seen-before levels, and created a plague… View Article

BC’s Other Deficits

Nov 28, 2012
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The release of the BC Budget Second Quarterly report notes an increase in the projected budget deficit to $1.5 billion, up from $1.1 billion when the beans were first counted back in September. The growing deficit, amid a soft economy, is bound to get plenty of media attention. But this blog post is not about… View Article

BC is giving away its natural gas

Nov 21, 2012
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In September, when the BC government tabled its First Quarterly Report on the BC Budget the big story was on plummeting natural gas royalties, which means cuts to public services in order to keep the budget balance in check. As the update states on page 6: The deterioration in natural gas royalty revenue is the main… View Article

BC’s Natural Gas Strategy nothing more than a fairy tale

Oct 21, 2012
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I have an oped in Saturday’s Vancouver Sun. The editor wanted me to focus on the claims of economic gains for BC, so the piece ended up being a complementary piece to the Behind the Numbers report on GHG emissions and the Natural Gas Strategy. The title was his choice not my own, but I… View Article

Time to Rethink The Way We Fund Higher Education

Oct 9, 2012
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This September, like every year, a new group of high school graduates headed to college or university to pursue higher education. But today’s generation of students is in for a very different experience from the ones their parents had. On campuses across the country shiny new buildings are popping up, bearing corporate logos or the… View Article