Earlier this week, the Fraser Institute published a controversial report which argued that the government stimulus did not do much for economic growth in the last two quarters of 2009, suggesting that government spending on infrastructure was useless. While their analysis suffers from serious shortcomings, which I outlined in a previous blog post here, their [...]
Entries Tagged as 'stimulus'
In defense of the stimulus
March 25th, 2010 · Iglika Ivanova · 3 Comments · Economy, Taxes
Tags: fiscal policy·government spending·recession·recovery·role of government·stimulus
The role of stimulus spending in the recovery
March 24th, 2010 · Iglika Ivanova · 1 Comment · Economy, Provincial budget & finance, Transparency & accountability
Yesterday, the Fraser Institute published a new report, which argues that the government stimulus did not drive Canadian economic growth in the last two quarters of 2009, suggesting that government spending on infrastructure was useless for the economy. The report earned the scorn of Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who called it ”poorly done and it’s [...]
Tags: Economy·Fraser Institute·recession·recovery·role of government·stimulus
Is the stimulus killing the P3 model?
March 27th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Economy, Privatization, P3s & public services
While BC has not formally abandoned the P3 model, there is a notable absence of new P3 projects at a time when billions of dollars are being channeled to infrastructure spending. If P3s really provided value for money and brought the benefits of private sector efficiency and innovation to the delivery of public-sector infrastructure, then [...]
Is funnelling money into shovel-ready projects the best strategy for infrastructure development?
March 27th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Economy, Provincial budget & finance
I often get asked: “Shouldn’t we support the Olympics or the Port Mann bridge (or any of the multitude of poorly handled infrastructure projects in our province) despite their substantial cost overruns on the grounds that they will create jobs and benefit the economy?” The problem with this question is that it allows for two [...]
Tags: passenger rail·Port Mann·recession·stimulus·transportation
The wrong kind of stimulus
March 13th, 2009 · Marc Lee · Comments Off · Economy, Environment, resources & sustainability, Provincial budget & finance
I am a big fan of stimulus packages for our ailing economy. But my pitch has been that we need to use the occasion to retrofit our economy to be on a more sustainable footing. So it matters a great deal on what we spend those stimulus dollars. If we launch projects that take us [...]
Tags: oil and gas·Port Mann·stimulus
BC Budget 2009: Vanilla, No Sprinkles (revised)
February 17th, 2009 · Marc Lee · 1 Comment · Economy, Provincial budget & finance
Faced with a nasty recession at its doorstep, the BC budget is uninspiring and underwhelming in its ambition. Overall there is little that actively plans for a recession, preferring instead a steady-as-she-goes budget, perhaps aimed at cultivating the image of responsible economic managers in a time of crisis. There are no tax cuts or drastic [...]
Infrastructure – more than just 'guy jobs'
January 21st, 2009 · Rita Chudnovsky · Comments Off · Children & youth, Women
Now that almost everyone seems to agree that public spending on infrastructure is a good idea - it’s time for another paradigm shift. Across the political continuum, infrastructure talk is still all about roads, bridges, and transit – sectors that overwhelmingly employ men. But, to stimulate the economy, surely we need to invest in both social and physical infrastructure. Lets take [...]
