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.

U.S. unemployment drops to 7.7 % 236,000 jobs created in February

There was some good news on the unemployment front in the U.S. The Bureau of Labour statistics has released the report for February and it shows that the unemployment rate has fallen to 7.7 % which is positive news. Total … Continue reading

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Sequester underway in U.S. Cracks appear in British austerity wall.

We will soon be a full week into the foolish sequester experience in the U.S. So far it is way too soon to assess the damage to the growth rate and the slowdown in employment that cutting the first 100 … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, deficit hysteria, monetary policy, treasury view, U.K. economy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Italian electorate rejects austerity by overwhelming margin

The Italian electorate has overwhelmingly rejected the austerity which its technocratic government led by Mario Monti with the backing of Germany had imposed on the country. Mr. Monti’s party according to La Repubblicca received a mere 10.5 % of the … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, business cycles, classical economics, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, European debt crisis, European unemployment, fiscal policy, Italian debt crisis, J.M.Keynes, monetary policy, treasury view, Uncategorized, unemployment | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Oscars reflect and influence changing American culture

I have watched the Oscars for many years, not just because like hundreds of millions I love the movies but also because I think they are a cultural artifact which can help us understand the direction American and our own … Continue reading

Posted in cinema, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Canadian inflation falls to 0.5% in January compared to January 2012. Further evidence of slowdown ?

The latest inflation data for Canada adds further evidence that the Canadian economy is slowing and perhaps even teetering on the edge of deflation.The trend in inflation has been persistently in a downward direction over the past year. Year to … Continue reading

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American Recovery Act and stimulus program has a multiplier of more than 2: hence it was a very effective program

There have been a lot of false claims made about the ineffectiveness of the American Recovery act and the stimulus that it administered. But if one actually examines the data and calculates the rise in the GDP over the years … Continue reading

Posted in business cycles, deficit hysteria, fiscal policy, Keynesian multiplier, treasury view, U.S., Uncategorized, unemployment | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Europe still mired in austerity, slow growth and possible recession and excessive unemployment

The situation in Europe continues to be worrisome and exasperating. The stubborn ideologically driven opposition to stimulating the economy through major infrastructure and employment creating investments and a supportive low interest monetary policy including where appropriate quantitative easing is long … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, business cycles, classical economics, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, European debt crisis, European unemployment, France politics+economy, full employment, J.M.Keynes, Keynesian multiplier, labour market clearing, monetary policy, quantitative easing, Spain, treasury view, U.K. economy, Uncategorized, unemployment | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

German American economist N.Johannsen and impair savings:important clue to current slow recovery

The German American amateur economist Nicholas Johannsen (1844-1928) published a work in 1908 entitled A Neglected Point in Connection with Crises in which he developed the notion of ”impair savings” He used this notion to point out that crises originated … Continue reading

Posted in business cycles, classical economics, fiscal policy, full employment, J.M.Keynes, monetary policy, Uncategorized, unemployment | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Canadian employment falls by 21,900 but headline unemployment rate falls to 7.0 %

Statistics Canada has released its latest Labour force survey for the month of January. It shows that unemployment has fallen to 7.0 % but there are 21,900 fewer people employed and the fall in the headline rate is due to … Continue reading

Posted in Alberta, austerity, business cycles, Canada, fiscal policy, full employment, J.M.Keynes, labour market clearing, monetary policy, Québec, Uncategorized, unemployment | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

U.S. jobs report January 2013 unemployment 7.9% 157,000 jobs added:clear need for further fiscal stimulus

The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics has released the employment report for January . It shows that unemployment rose slightly to 7.9 %, 157,000 new jobs were added and there were significant upward revisions to employment numbers for last November … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, business cycles, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, Federal Reserve, fiscal policy, full employment, monetary policy, quantitative easing, U.S. | Tagged , , | Leave a comment