Author Archives: haroldchorneyeconomist

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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.

Russia has very low debt to GDP ratio. Most of its external debt is private.

As the crisis unfolds in Russia it is rather interesting to note that of the leading issuers of sovereign national debt Russia has among the lowest ratios in the world . Its debt to GDP ratio is just under 12 … Continue reading

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Oil in NYMEX market hits 53.60 in trading then rises to 56.05:Brent falls to 59. Russia CB raises interest rates to 17 %

The on going turmoil in the oil markets continues with the price today dropping for a time as low as $53.60 in the U.S. NYMEX market before recovering to $56 in later trading. The price for Brent oil touched $59. … Continue reading

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Oil supplies some basic information can help explain the drop in prices and the nature of the cartel

In order to make better sense out the sharp swings in the price of oil and the changing supply conditions it is very useful to have some data. I am reproducing a post from my older blog that I first … Continue reading

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Oil price plunge and possible Greek election: Clouds on the horizon or brighter days ahead ?

I am about to settle in for an evening devoted to grading my exams a twice yearly ritual that follows the end of an academic term. One always learns from reading exams. One also always learns from closely monitoring the … Continue reading

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The crisis of 2008:A second look back at the underlying causes and potential cures

The roots of the recent crisis and the path to recovery is still an important debate. A little over four years ago I wrote a piece on this and posted it in my older blog on blogspot. I am reproducing … Continue reading

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More positive news from U.S.economy. Payroll employment rises 321,000;Canadian economy slips.

The monthly US Bureau of Labor statistics are out and they reflect good news. US payroll employment grew in november by 321,000 and there were significant upward revisions in the same numbers for September and October. The US unemployment rate … Continue reading

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Europe moves closer to Quantitative Easing:Inflation falls to 0.3% Carlo Bastasin suggests a useful policy tool

The latest inflation data for the Eurozone shows inflation at only 0.3 %. Many analysts are beginning to worry that prolonged low inflation will reinforce economic stagnation (See the analysis of Gavin Davies in the Financial times on this.) An … Continue reading

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Deficit hysteria in Québec:Facts versus Fictions, Net debt to GDP based on accumulated deficits 33%

QUEBEC’S DEBT COMPARISONS WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTS IN CANADA Let’s compare Québec’s debt with the debt of the other governments in Canada, by using the two main debt concepts. The headline number which is largely meaningless because it ignores the value … Continue reading

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An insightful piece on Manitoba’s political crisis and the problem with sales taxes :see T.C.Norris on blogger.

My original home province of Manitoba is currently embroiled in considerable political controversy over a broken election promise not to increase the sales tax and the fate of its NDP Premier Greg Selinger . As T.C. Norris aka Paul Barber … Continue reading

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Historical data on US unemployment:75 months ago unemployment was 5.8 %

One of the most important features of a recession is the length of time it takes for the unemployment rate once elevated to return to its pre recession lows. The US Bureau of Labor statistics fortunately keeps an excellent time … Continue reading

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