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.

117,000 new jobs added in July unemployment drops to 9.1 %

The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics has released data that shows that the U.S. economy added a net 117,000 jobs last month and that unemployment has dropped to 9.1 %. This is not a spectacular improvement but it does beat … Continue reading

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Historical data from the bureau of labour statistics employment survey key information

When tomorrow’s employment survey numbers are published they will be closely examined by market traders for signs of continued economic weakness or of economic recovery taking root. To better understand them it is useful to put the monthly survey numbers … Continue reading

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Market mayhem Dow drops 512 points: European and American double whammy need for stimulus not austerity

The Dow dropped over 512 points in today’s trading, the largest one day drop in points since the 2008 crash, arousing fears of a second crisis and a deeper  second recession. Given the destructive American debt ceiling debate, its austerity … Continue reading

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Austan Goolsbee evades answering excellent question about why the Obama administration switched from a stimulus policy that worked to a cutting strategy that won’ t @ TheDailyShow #austangoolsbee

Jon Stewart the comedian asked a devastating question of Austan Goolsbee President Obama’s chief economic advisor who is leaving office about how come if the administration had argued correctly over and over again that the stimulus had worked to create … Continue reading

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U.S. avoids default but unemployed will pay a steep price as slower growth is likely

It is not a very pleasing outcome. President Obama and  more than half  the Democrats in Congress reluctantly accepted the lop sided package of austerity measures that the President and his team negotiated with a much tougher and strategically more … Continue reading

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Foreign holders of U.S. Debt

Many analysts misrepresent the percentage of U.S. debt held by  foreigners who clearly buy the debt because they view it as a  valuable asset. The table below courtesy of the U.S. treasury  details precisely which foreign countries hold U.S. debt. … Continue reading

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Neanderthal economics afflicts Nation’s Capital: the Return of Herbert Hoover

Whatever the outcome of the last minute, too late by several weeks, negotiations that are underway in Washington considerable damage has already been imposed on what is supposed to the leader of the free world. The biggest damage is the … Continue reading

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Debt ceiling debate drags on and risks global economic chaos

Perhaps not surprisingly given the cast of bizarre politicians affiliated to the tea party wing of the Republican party who now sit in Congress a deal to raise the debt ceiling has still not been struck despite the fact that … Continue reading

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The difference between gross debt and net debt is an important distinction when assessing U.S. government debt

A key consideration in evaluating accurately the burden of  public sector debt is to understand the distinction between gross debt-often the headline number- and net debt the true measure of the debt burden. Robert Eisner explained this well in his … Continue reading

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High employment deficit or surplus key to understanding how deficit finance can work to promote growth and lower unemployment.

One of the best Keynesian economists in the U.S. was the late Robert Eisner who taught for many years at Northwestern University and who was at one time president of the American Economics Association. I had the pleasure of spending … Continue reading

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