I’ve written a 750-word overview of the federal role in housing policy. The English-language version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canada-ten-things-to-know-about-the-federal-role-in-housing-policy/ The French-language version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canada-dix-faits-saillants-sur-le-role-du-federal-en-matiere-de-politique-du-logement/
Continue readingTag: Recession
The Progressive Economics Forum: 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 here.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Homelessness in canada could rise due to recession
I am currently writing a report for Employment and Social Development Canada looking at the long-term impact of the current recession on homelessness. It should be ready by early November. In the meantime, a teaser blog post I’ve just written on the same topic is available here.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Trudeau government should spend more on affordable housing and homelessness
On July 21, the Alternative Federal Budget Recovery Plan was released. The document aims to provide public policy direction to Canada’s federal government, in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. I was author of the Recovery Plan’s chapter on affordable housing and homelessness, which can be accessed here.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten things to know about CMHC’s Insured Mortgage Purchase Program
In March 2020, the Trudeau government launched a new version of the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP). According to CMHC’s website: “Under this program, the government will purchase up to $50 billion of insured mortgage pools through CMHC.” Here are 10 things to know: 1. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Making the COVID19 Wage Subsidy Program work better for workers
With the federal government is increasing its temporary wage subsidy to 75%, other reforms are needed to ensure the public funding goes to maintain workers, and not pad the profits of businesses. In the face of the COVID19 crisis, the Canadian government has done a good job of both limiting
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Affordable housing, homelessness and the upcoming federal budget
I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of things to know about affordable housing and homelessness, as they relate to Canada’s upcoming federal budget. The overview is based on the affordable housing and homelessness chapter in the just-released Alternative Federal Budget. A link to the ‘top 10’ overview is here.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Federal Support Package: The Pros, the Cons, and the Next Shoe to Drop
Here are some quick thoughts on the extensive package of emergency measures announced today by Prime Minister Trudeau, Finance Minister Morneau, and Bank of Canada Governor Poloz: The Pros: The government has worked quickly and creatively to find ways to deliver support to Canadians, and fast – using the infrastructure
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten things to know about poverty measurement in Canada
I’ve written a blog post providing an overview of poverty measurement in Canada. Points raised in the post include the following: -One’s choice of poverty measure has a major impact on whether poverty is seen to be increasing or decreasing over time. -Canada’s federal government recently chose the make the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Roubini – When the Next Crash Comes
Economist Nouriel Roubini skyrocketed to fame as the first to foretell the crash of 2007/2008 (a claim that overlooks the even earlier warnings from Stiglitz and Krugman). In 2011 Roubini sparked controversy by writing that capitalism was self-destructing, much as Karl Marx predicted. Now, writing in The Guardian, Roubini warns
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: An Analysis of Financial Flows in the Canadian Economy
An essential but perhaps overlooked way of looking at the economy is a sector financial balance approach. Pioneered by the late UK economist Wynne Godley, this approach starts with National Accounts data (called Financial Flow Accounts) for four broad sectors of the economy: households, corporations, government and non-residents. Here’s how
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: L’itinérance au Canada: Sa croissance, les réponses politiques, et le plaidoyer
Le 1er février, j’ai fait une présentation sur l’itinérance adressée aux étudiants du séminaire d’études supérieures de monsieur Steve Pomeroy à la School of Public Policy and Administration à l’Université Carleton. Le thème de ma présentation a été l’émergence de l’itinérance au Canada en tant que domaine politique publique pressant dans les années 1980. J’ai […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Homelessness in Canada: Its Growth, Policy Responses, and Advocacy
On February 1, I gave a guest presentation on homelessness to a graduate seminar class on housing policy taught by Steve Pomeroy at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration. The focus of my presentation was the emergence of homelessness in Canada as a pressing public policy area in the 1980s. I discussed the […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Too Early to Call Recession Over
Statistics Canada is reporting a 0.3% increase in monthly GDP for July, on top of a (downward revised) 0.4% increase in June. This will no doubt spark Conservative politicians, and many economists, to declare that the shallow recession which Canada experienced in the first half of 2015 is already over.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: GDP Recession a Symptom of Deeper Failures
There were surely more people (myself included) watching Statistics Canada’s GDP release at 8:30 am Tuesday, than any other release in recent history! This reflected the political significance of the possibility that an official recession would be confirmed by the numbers, right smack in the middle of an election campaign
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canadian recession will go beyond first half of 2015
Canadian recession will go beyond first half of 2015 Louis-Philippe Rochon Associate Professor, Laurentian University Co-Editor, Review of Keynesian Economics With news of economic turmoil in China and other emerging economies, repercussions for Canada will be quite “atrocious”. Expect the recession to continue beyond the second quarter of 2015. This
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canada’s new recession and the push for alternatives
The Bank of Canada today cut its benchmark interest rate two weeks ago to nearly record lows, now just 0.5%. In the face of an oil shock and other weakness, monetary policy is expected to do the heavy lifting of beating an economic funk. Today’s move reflects a poverty of
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: On Recession Economies
So, today the Bank of Canada lowered its prime lending rate to 0.5%. Supposedly, this signals that Canada is sliding into a recession. Those of us who have been watching have long ago figured out that the minute the bubble burst on oil prices, Ca…
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: On Recession Economies
So, today the Bank of Canada lowered its prime lending rate to 0.5%. Supposedly, this signals that Canada is sliding into a recession. Those of us who have been watching have long ago figured out that the minute the bubble burst on oil prices, Canada was going to slide into
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: On Recession Economies
So, today the Bank of Canada lowered its prime lending rate to 0.5%. Supposedly, this signals that Canada is sliding into a recession. Those of us who have been watching have long ago figured out that the minute the bubble burst on oil prices, Canada was going to slide into
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