Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Perils of Polling: B.C. election delivers rude surprise to pollsters

Posted on May 17, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

The recent B.C. provincial election which delivered a shocking Liberal party victory of 50 seats(44.5% of vote) and a fourth consecutive term to just 33 seats 39.5 % of the vote) for the New Democrats should send pollsters back to … Continue reading →

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Canadian unemployment stable at 7.2 % inflation falls to -0.4 % seasonally adjusted annual rate.

Posted on May 17, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

The last report on unemployment in Canada from the Labour force survey showed that unemployment in April was unchanged at 7.2 %. Quebec at 7.8 % and Ontario at 7.7 %  still show signs of slow growth and excessive unemployment. … Continue reading →

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U.S. unemployment falls to 7.5 % U6, the broad definition is 13.4 %

Posted on May 3, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

The United States continues to make slow but steady progress on lowering its unemployment rate. Total unemployment was 7.5% down from 7.6 % last month. A total of 165, 000 were added to payroll employment and there were substantial upward … Continue reading →

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The Owl of Minerva takes flight at dusk:The anti-Keynesian era is drawing to a close

Posted on May 2, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

The Owl of Minerva takes flight at dusk: The anti-Keynesian era is drawing to a close By Harold R. Chorney, Professor of political economy, Concordia university, Montreal.( I originally submitted this to the New York Times as an op ed … Continue reading →

Posted in austerity, business cycles, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, European debt crisis, European unemployment, fiscal policy, France politics+economy, full employment, Greek sovereign debt crisis, Italian debt crisis, J.M.Keynes, Keynesian multiplier, monetary policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Austerity backers in Europe in retreat ? Barroso calls for re-orientation to growth.

Posted on April 22, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

The head of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso has called for Europe to downgrade its austerity policies and re-emphasize policies which stimulate growth. He argues in a speech today , according to The Wall Street Journal,that austerity no longer … Continue reading →

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Reinhart and Rogoff study based on flawed data:I pointed this out in 2010

Posted on April 20, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

It comes as no surprise to me that researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have published a study showing that the conclusions which Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff drew about debt and economic growth were inappropriate and unjustified … Continue reading →

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Boston Marathon Terrorism: An appalling act of barbarism

Posted on April 20, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

Terrorism, that plague of modernity has returned to haunt us with the cruel, cowardly attack on the Boston marathon. For millions of people the marathon is an iconic competition open to all levels of long distance runners of all ages. … Continue reading →

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U.S. unemployment 7.6 % in March, 88,000 net new employment, sequester begins to slow job creation.

Posted on April 5, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

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

Posted on April 2, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

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

A tale of two bankruptcies: Washington Mutual versus Laiki Bank

Posted on March 25, 2013 by haroldchorneyeconomist

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