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.

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

Cypriot events send worrisome message to savers and bank customers throughout Europe.

The dust is now settling on the wreckage of the Cypriot economy and its financial services sector. In a move that shocked many millions of people in Europe and elsewhere the European union , the ECB and the IMF imposed … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, business cycles, Cyprus banks, deficit hysteria, European unemployment | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Robert Mundell, Columbia University economist criticizes overvalued euro which promotes unemployment and urges QE

Robert Mundell, a Nobel prize winning Canadian economist at Columbia University and a specialist on trade,exchange rates and currencies has wisely critiqued the European central bank for allowing an overvalued exchange rate on the euro which has harmed growth in … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, balance of payments, business cycles, classical economics, European debt crisis, European unemployment, free trade and globalization, full employment, quantitative easing, unemployment | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

A tale of two bankruptcies: Washington Mutual versus Laiki Bank

According to Alan Blinder, a former vice chair of the Federal reserve and professor of Economics at Princeton and a Keynesian when Washington Mutual one of the largest banks in the U.S. with assets of $328 billion  went bankrupt in … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, Cyprus banks, European financial stability fund, Greek sovereign debt crisis, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The American Presidential Election:Hayek versus Keynes Revisited

Prof. Harold Chorney, Concordia university Montreal, Québec Hayek Versus Keynes Revisited :Macroeconomic Policy and the American 2012 Presidential election    paper to be presented to MPSA meeting, Chicago. 2013    Provisional copy The recent American presidential election revealed that little … Continue reading

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Cyprus Parliament Rejects Deal: May Turn to Russia Instead

The Cypriot Parliament has rejected the bailout deal on offer even after account holders with accounts under the 20,000€ threshold were exempted from the proposed tax of 6.75 %. The tax proposed for account holders above 100,000€ was 9.9 %. … Continue reading

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Cyprus taxes bank deposits in exchange for Euro zone bailout

Cyprus which has a reputation for being a centre for money laundering from Eastern Europe, Russia in particular and other places as well has had a financial services sector and banking centre far greater than the size of its economy, … Continue reading

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Canadian unemployment stable at 7.0% 50,700 gain in employment

The Canadian unemployment rate for February remained stable at 7.0 % with 50,700 new jobs reported according to Statistics Canada. The participation rate increased to 66.7 %. youth unemployment for those aged 15 to 24 remained elevated at 13.6 %. … Continue reading

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