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.

Vive le Québec social et progressif ! : the conflict over higher university tuition fees in Québec

There has been a significant clash over values and higher education taking place in Québec over the past few weeks. There is an on going student strike and there  have been daily demonstrations at many of the university campuses in … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, Canada, fiscal policy, full employment, progressives, Québec, Uncategorized, unemployment | Leave a comment

Australia and unemployment rate significantly lower than North America and most of Western Europe

Australia has always been a country I have followed with interest. I had Australian teachers in grade school who were among my favorites and my primary school principal was a kind and wise Australian from Tasmania. I also have some … Continue reading

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On Debt follies and deficit hysteria:intelligent voices from the past

Among the many 1000 books in my library is a macro economics text, Macroeconomics:The measurement,analysis and control of aggregate economic activity, 3rd edition from 1968 written by Thomas Dernburg who was then  Professor of Economics at Oberlin college and Duncan … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, European debt crisis, Greek sovereign debt crisis, Italian debt crisis, J.M.Keynes, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

American unemployment rate drops to 8.2 % but job creation still unsatisfactory

The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics reported last week that the unemployment rate fell to 8.2 % . But the total number of new jobs added was a disappointing 83,000 below what the market had been expecting so bearish sentiment … Continue reading

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Canadian unemployment rate falls from 7.4 to 7.2 %

There was some good news on the Canadian unemployment front today. Statistics Canada released the March labour force survey which showed further progress in lowering the unemployment rate to 7.2 %, a welcome development. Unemployment fell in Ontario to 7.4% … Continue reading

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Some notes on the multiplier

A key component of Keynes’ General Theory was R.F. Kahn’s development of the multiplier first published in the Economic Journal in June, 1931 ‘The  Relation of Home Investment to Unemployment.’ Kahn was not the only economist to develop this concept. … Continue reading

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Robert Reich has an excellent op ed in Financial Times: U.S.Recovery so far Benefits largely go to top 10 %.

Robert Reich who throughout this crash and crisis has produced a steady stream of excellent articles on the origins of the crisis and appropriate policies to get out of it and critiques of anti-Keynesian thinking has an excellent article in … Continue reading

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Eurozone Unemployment rises to 10.8%, 17.134 million unemployed.

Eurostat has released the latest unemployment data for the Eurozone 17. It does not make for pleasant reading. Because of the foolish contractionary  austerity policies being implemented there, as expected unemployment is rising. It is now  10 % in France, … Continue reading

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Conservative Job and Expenditure Cuts a Risky Approach to Recovery

Canada’s strong employment performance contrasts sharply with that of the United States (the government argues in its budget) Indeed our economy was less severely damaged than the American economy during and immediately after the crash. Chart 2.9 Total Employment Unemployment … Continue reading

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Canadian Conservative Government Budget Raises Eligibility Age for Old Age Pension, Cuts Spending and Eliminates 19000 plus public service jobs

The Canadian Minister of Finance has stubbornly flown in the face of expert advice from the Parliamentary Budget officer and unnecessarily raised the age of eligibility for Canadian old age pensions from 65 to 67. The change will be phased … Continue reading

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