Avi Lewis’ rent control plan
I’ve just written a ‘top 10′ overview of Avi Lewis’ plan to impose federal rent control. Here’s the link to the post:
economic thought
Theory and homelessness
I’m writing an open access e-textbook on homelessness. Chapter 2, focused on theory, has just been published. The full chapter is available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Falvo-Chapter-2-Theory-and-homelessness-19aug2022.pdf A ‘top 10’ overview of the…
What causes homelessness?
I’m writing an open access e-textbook on homelessness. Each chapter will be uploaded to my website as it becomes available. I’ve just finished Chapter 1 titled “What causes homelessness?” A…
The Minister of Housing’s Mandate Letter
On 16 December 2021, mandate letters for Canada’s federal ministers were made public. The letter for Canada’s Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion contains an important set of marching…
the federal Conservatives’ housing platform
With a federal election taking place in Canada on September 20, I’ve written an 800-word overview of the Conservatives’ housing platform. It’s available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/ten-things-to-know-about-the-federal-conservatives-housing-platform
the recession’s likely long-term impact on homelessness
I’ve just written a report for Employment and Social Development Canada on the current recession’s likely long-term impact on homelessness in Canada. An overview of the report can be found…
Lifting singles out of poverty in canada
I’ve written a report for the Institute for Research on Public Policy about social assistance—specifically, about social assistance for employable single adults without dependants. A ‘top 10’ overview of the…
Social assistance: Do higher benefit levels lead to higher caseloads?
As part of my PhD thesis, I did some statistical analysis in which I asked the question: “Do higher social assistance benefit levels lead to higher caseloads?” I have recently…
Trudeau’s proposed speculation tax
I’ve written a blog post about the Trudeau Liberals’ recently-proposed speculation tax on residential real estate owned by non-resident, non-Canadians. The full blog post can be accessed here.
Low taxes are nothing to brag about
I’ve written an opinion piece that appears in today’s Regina Leader-Post. The piece argues that the Saskatchewan government shouldn’t brag about the province’s low-tax climate (which it recently did). Rather,…
Value Creation vs Value Extraction in Today’s Economy
Book Review Mariana Mazzucato. The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy. Allen Lane. 2018. The playwright Oscar Wilde quipped that a cynic is a person who…
The Contemporary Relevance of Karl Polanyi
The political economist Karl Polanyi, author of the 1944 volume The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, is arguably better known today than during his lifetime.…
A Tale of Two Books
Just published is Volume I of an exhaustive – occasionally exhausting – biography of Paul Samuelson. It’s titled Founder of Modern Economics: Paul A Samuelson Vol I: Becoming Samuelson, 1915-1948…
Ten proposals from the 2018 Alternative Federal Budget
I’ve written a blog post about this year’s Alternative Federal Budget (AFB). Points raised in the blog post include the following: -This year’s AFB would create 470,000 (full-time equivalent) jobs…
Panel discussion at federal NDP policy convention
Yesterday I spoke on a panel discussion on economic inequality, along with Andrew Jackson and Armine Yalnizyan. We were guests at the federal NDP’s policy convention in Ottawa. The panel…
Stephen Clarkson: An Introduction to a special blog series
Stephen Clarkson: Political Economist with a Global Vision (1937 – 2016) Marjorie Griffin Cohen and Daniel Drache Stephen Clarkson died early in 2016 in Freiburg, Germany and Canada lost someone…
Ten Things to Know About Social Assistance in Alberta
I’ve just written a blog post about social assistance in Alberta. Points raised in the post include the following: -It’s very difficult to quality for social assistance in Alberta (this…
Fiscal situation of Canada’s ‘oil rich’ provinces
I’ve just written a blog post about the fiscal situation of Canada’s ‘oil rich’ provinces (i.e., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador). It consists of a summary of key points…
Ten things to know about social assistance in Canada
I’ve just written a blog post about social assistance in Canada. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Social assistance has two contradictory objectives: 1) to give people…
The introduction and evolution of child benefits in Canada
Allan Moscovitch and I have co-authored a blog post that looks at the history of child benefits in Canada. Points made in the blog post include the following: -Child benefits…