Author Archives: haroldchorneyeconomist

About haroldchorneyeconomist

I am Professor of political economy at Concordia university in Montréal, Québec, Canada. I received my B.A.Hons (econ.&poli sci) from the University of Manitoba. I also completed my M.A. degree in economics there. Went on to spend two years at the London School of Economics as a Ph.D. student in economics and then completed my Ph.D. in political economy at the University of Toronto. Was named a John W.Dafoe fellow, a CMHC fellow and a Canada Council fellow. I also was named a Woodrow Wilson fellow in 1968 after completing my first class honours undergraduate degree. Worked as an economist in the area of education, labour economics and as the senior economist with the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation for the Government of Manitoba from 1972 to 1978. I also have worked as an economic consultant for MDT socio-economic consultants and have been consulted on urban planning, health policy, linguistic duality and public sector finance questions by the governments of Manitoba, Saskatchewan,the cities of Regina and Saskatoon, Ontario and the Federal government of Canada. I have also been consulted by senior leaders of the British Labour party, MPs from the Progressive Conservative party, the Liberal party and the New Democrats on economic policy questions. Members of the Government of France under the Presidency of Francois Mitterand discussed my work on public sector deficits. I have also run for elected office at the municipal level. I first began to write about quantitative easing as a useful policy option during the early 1980s.

The Perils of Polling: B.C. election delivers rude surprise to pollsters

The recent B.C. provincial election which delivered a shocking Liberal party victory of 50 seats(44.5% of vote) and a fourth consecutive term to just 33 seats 39.5 % of the vote) for the New Democrats should send pollsters back to … Continue reading

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Canadian unemployment stable at 7.2 % inflation falls to -0.4 % seasonally adjusted annual rate.

The last report on unemployment in Canada from the Labour force survey showed that unemployment in April was unchanged at 7.2 %. Quebec at 7.8 % and Ontario at 7.7 %  still show signs of slow growth and excessive unemployment. … Continue reading

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U.S. unemployment falls to 7.5 % U6, the broad definition is 13.4 %

The United States continues to make slow but steady progress on lowering its unemployment rate. Total unemployment was 7.5% down from 7.6 % last month. A total of 165, 000 were added to payroll employment and there were substantial upward … Continue reading

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The Owl of Minerva takes flight at dusk:The anti-Keynesian era is drawing to a close

The Owl of Minerva takes flight at dusk: The anti-Keynesian era is drawing to a close By Harold R. Chorney, Professor of political economy, Concordia university, Montreal.( I originally submitted this to the New York Times as an op ed … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, business cycles, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, European debt crisis, European unemployment, fiscal policy, France politics+economy, full employment, Greek sovereign debt crisis, Italian debt crisis, J.M.Keynes, Keynesian multiplier, monetary policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Austerity backers in Europe in retreat ? Barroso calls for re-orientation to growth.

The head of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso has called for Europe to downgrade its austerity policies and re-emphasize policies which stimulate growth. He argues in a speech today , according to The Wall Street Journal,that austerity no longer … Continue reading

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Reinhart and Rogoff study based on flawed data:I pointed this out in 2010

It comes as no surprise to me that researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have published a study showing that the conclusions which Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff drew about debt and economic growth were inappropriate and unjustified … Continue reading

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Boston Marathon Terrorism: An appalling act of barbarism

Terrorism, that plague of modernity has returned to haunt us with the cruel, cowardly attack on the Boston marathon. For millions of people the marathon is an iconic competition open to all levels of long distance runners of all ages. … Continue reading

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The end of an era ? Margaret Thatcher passes away A controversial but also creative force in British politics is gone.

Margaret Thatcher, an elemental force of great magnetism but also great negative consequences, has passed away. She enters history as an extraordinary politician and certainly one of the great figures on the Tory side of British politics. From my liberal … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, Hayek, J.M.Keynes, Keynesian welfare state, U.K. economy | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

U.S. unemployment 7.6 % in March, 88,000 net new employment, sequester begins to slow job creation.

This past month’s U.S. unemployment numbers show that the rate of unemployment is dropping hardly at all and the number of new jobs created fell from the plus 200,000 range to just 88,000. The broader definition of unemployment fell however … Continue reading

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Unemployment in Europe averages 12 % as of February 2013

The bitter fruits of austerity are on display in the latest unemployment report from Eurostat. Overall there are 26 million people out of work in Europe. unemployment averages 12 %. It is 10.8 % in France,7.7 % in the U.K., … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, business cycles, deficit hysteria, European debt crisis, European unemployment, fiscal policy, France politics+economy, monetary policy, Spain, U.K. economy, Uncategorized, unemployment | Tagged , , | Leave a comment