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.

Some European debt data

Country           GDP billions euros   public debt              Debt to GDP     Unemployment% (4th quarter 2011) Germany         2,567               … Continue reading

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Spanish unemployment 24.4 %;U.S. GDP up 2.2%:austerity not working.

This mornings news is anything but positive. U.S. growth is still positive but it would have been 0.6 % greater had  government cuts not subtracted from the total, leaving U.S. growth in the first quarter still positive but only modestly … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, European unemployment, Greek sovereign debt crisis, Spain, Uncategorized, unemployment | Leave a comment

French unemployment rises for 12th consecutive month:austerity a bad bet

Again no surprise but painful to report nonethess unemployment in France continues to rise for the 12th consecutive month as reported by INSEE. In metropolitan France it is now 9.7 % with the overall national rate even higher at just … Continue reading

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UK negative growth no surprise: austerity leads to double dip recession.

Britain has suffered a double dip recession according to the latest GDP data for the first quarter of 2012. The economy contracted in this quarter 0.2% after having contracted 0.3 % in the fourth quarter of 2011. This is no … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, classical economics, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, European debt crisis, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Alberta polls dead wrong but French poll shows Hollande likely to defeat Sarkozy in second round 54-46 % %

Election polls or sondages as they are called in Québec are usually devoured by the media hungry for headlines. Of course, the methodology of polls, whether they were taken from a properly weighted and conducted random sample from the population … Continue reading

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A Tale of Two Frances:Marine Le Pen 6.2 % in Paris, 27.5 % in Vaucluse

When one analyses the first round French presidential election results in detail and examines the vote in the major cities and compares it with the regions some very striking differences emerge which illustrate the divide in French society today. For … Continue reading

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France votes:Hollande 28.5 %; Sarkozy 27.1%;Le Pen 18.2%;Mélenchon 11.1%;Bayrou 9.1%;Joly 2.3%

France the bastion of democracy has voted in the first round of the Presidential elections. As the polls suggested François Hollande of the Parti socialiste has finished just ahead of the President Nicholas Sarkozy of the UMP. In third place … Continue reading

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More violent clashes in Quebec between student demonstrators and police over proposed tuition fees increase

Both yesterday and today there have been further violent clashes between demonstrators opposed to the fee increases and the police in Montreal. Malicious property damage , personal injury to both protestors  and police and innocent bystanders have resulted. One has … Continue reading

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Canadian inflation falls to 1.9 % below the 2 % target rate of the Bank of Canada: raising interest rates would be a big mistake

Statistics Canada has announced that the inflation rate for March fell to 1.9 %. This is exactly opposite to what a number of conventional economists including those who hold influential positions at the Bank thought would be the case. The … Continue reading

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French election heats up: Hollande and Sarkozy neck and neck with Mélenchon in third Le Pen close behind

The French Presidential election taking place amidst the turmoil and deprivation unleashed by the crash and failed austerity approach of the European leadership is turning into a very interesting contest. It would seem with only a week to go before … Continue reading

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