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EconomicDevelopment.Org is a hub of economic development news and resources from around the world. As a community of experts, professionals and members of the public, they seek to engage in conversation about issues and ideas surrounding economic development and its impact on people and places around the globe. They have a page specifically for the 'workforce' and trends and issues happening in the world of work. This initiative grew out of a longstanding commitment by Millier Dickinson Blais, a Canadian economic development consulting firm, to contribute to the growth of the economic development profession and generate discussion around issues and developments in the industry. The most comprehensive economic development site *Beyond the flow of news, with information and links to relevant resources *Bringing together leading contributors to share insightful and thought-provoking content *Facilitating exchange and interactions within a community of industry peers

In the first few chapters of Stanford's book - Economics is for Everyone - he speaks to how Economic Impact is measured in both the private and non-profit sectors in different ways. Having worked for non-profit organizations for a number of years, I was especially curious about how the economic impact of the non-profit sector is measured and found this great resource put together by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Especially enlightening is the PowerPoint presentation of International best practices for Tracking Economic Impact. Enjoy!

This article takes an interesting look at how Nordic countries are reshaping their economies after the economic lows in 2007-08. Interestingly enough, much has been changing since Economics for Everyone was published in 2008. Very interesting read!

Interesting article written in April 2013, when RBC was outsourcing jobs and there was much hype in the media about it.  The author makes some interesting points which I have highlighted for you to read.  Firstly, commenting on the fact that Indian workers are actually as well qualified or more qualified than Canadian workers to get the job done.  Friedman mentions this in his book when talking about his visits to Bangalore.  She notes that when businesses boost profit this is good for the economy because it means they will invest it. However, it was noted by Stanford in Economics for Everyone, that this is not always the case, and the amount of profit being spent on luxury goods rather than investment is currently increasing.  Interesting note the author makes about us vs them.  She mentions that if the jobs had been moving somewhere else in Canada, would the reaction have been just as passionate?  It is important to ensure that we are looking at cultural and racial issues here and taking these into account.   Lastly, she comments that on how we have to allow "the natural forces of capitalism to work".  Stanford also mentions how economists will often refer to capitalism as "natural" and that this is not true.  It is one economic system (which has been created by man) which we currently use, but it is not the only one that can exist, and it certainly did not exist before man did.  It is not natural like the seasons.  

Now that we know what the "economy" is...what is Canada's Economic Action Plan all about? Small businesses across Canada are engines for job creation. They employ roughly half of the private sector labour force and represent about a third of Canada's gross domestic product. Economic Action Plan (EAP) includes many initiatives to help small businesses succeed including the Small Business Job Credit.

The Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) is a non-profit, independent research and media organization based in Montreal. In addition to the Global Research websites, the Centre is involved in book publishing, support to humanitarian projects as well as educational outreach activities including the organization of public conferences and lectures. The Centre also acts as a think tank on crucial economic and geopolitical issues. The Global Research website at www.globalresearch.ca publishes news articles, commentary, background research and analysis on a broad range of issues, focusing on social, economic, strategic and environmental issues.They have established an extensive archive of news articles, in-depth reports and analysis on issues which are barely covered by the mainstream media. There are quite a few articles on economic trends arising from globalization, such as outsourcing.

In Chapter 8 of Economics for Everyone, Jim Stanford brings up on multiple occasions the need for labour extraction, and the use of the carrot and stick (reward and punishment) model in all businesses. As soon as I was reading this it made me think of a book I read last year by Alfie Kohn on Punishment and Reward. Kohn believes that punishments are just as bad as rewards, and that using either reduces happiness, and productivity. The first section of the book focuses on the research showing that the use of both punishments and rewards is detrimental to people's ability to do good work. In the second section he looks specifically at punishments and rewards in 3 places, the workplace, the school, and the home. In the third section he suggests new methods of motivation for all three places. When I origionally read this I was focused on his his ideas about school, however he his theories are equally important to the world of work!

Every dog has its day, and the same applies to economic theory. Today's dog is neo-liberalism, a policy framework developed by economists Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, which found political expression under Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

One of the main themes this week in the book "Economics For Everyone" is the term neoliberalism. Take a look at this article by the globe and mail. It talks extensively about how privatization, free trade and deregulation are changing society.

In 2008 the Municipal Finance Officers' Association published a 27 page document that I find quite fascinating. It addresses the challenge that municipalities have in finding a balance between embracing local strengths, working within the framework of government and competing on a global scale. It breaks Ontario into different regions, talks about each regions' strengths, identifies stakeholders and suggests ways that all parties can work together to strengthen Ontario's competitiveness on a number of scales.

In "The Virgin Guadalupe" of The World is Flat 3.0, Freidman talks about how in Ireland public college education is basically free. This allows them to develop a more educated workforce which has been beneficial for them economically. This article from Oct 2014 explains how Germany has moved in the same direction.

This bookmark shows through a animated graphic the change in employment rate since 1980. It's interesting to see how the different countries are affected by employment trends, such as the 1980s recession, 2008 recession, stock market drops and other further world events. According to the graphic and the accompanying article, it shows that the US was hit harder than Canada during the 2008 recession but recovered sooner.

The issues discussed by Sam Gindin in this article are related to Stanford's elaboration of capitalism in terms of its historical origin and its global impacts on human economic activities (both positive and negative). Gindin's justification that neoliberalism emerged as another form of economy in order to boost up capitalism sounds similar to what Stanford explains about it. Standford makes clear that new capitalist control or influence the majority of the world population: "the ability of elected governments to manage a capitalist economy is fundamentally limited by the unelected power of businesses and investors" (Economics for Everyone, 31). Regarding the capitalists' power as such, Gindin makes a sever comment that it is not late yet for political power to control the limited number of capitalists' monopoly.

The emergence of e-commerce has tremendously changed the ways of doing business-t-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce including timing, transportation patterns, consumer behavior and marketing. The article commodiously focuses on the ideas and global trends of chain business: B2B e-commerce leads the way, Double-digit growth for B2C, Economic behavioral changes and E-commerce influences demand patterns.

This article looks at how Canada's economy is failing apart while highlighting that other countries like China are booming. It talks about things like people living beyond their means and a lack of business investment as well as other factors that are contributing to the economy problem. I thought this was a great article for this week since we are ending with Friedman and Stanford. Both of their thoughts can be applied to this article.

Article from the Global Policy Journal, helping to visually conceptualize the location of the "centre" of the earth's economic activity over various time periods, giving reasoning for its predictions up to 2050. It also provides policy implications for this shift. Excellent article--I highly recommend the read.

"The trend toward "people without jobs, jobs without people" poses the single biggest long-term threat to Canadian economic growth, exacerbating Canada's already lagging productivity and innovation, according to one recent report. " Chris Sorensen; March 19, 2013

A recent survey on millenials - another name given to Generation Y - conducted by the Pew Research Center, explains how major events such as wars, social movements, economic downturns, and medical, scientific or technological breakthroughs affect all age groups simultaneously, but the degree of impact differs according to where people are located in their life cycle.

This resource is great for entrepreneurs. More specifically, check out the "Planning" section. Topics covered include: learning how to conduct market research, finding stats and analyses related to your chosen field, read up on economic trends in your industry, learn about where to find your target demographic audience across the country, and a site selection tool to help you find the best location for your business to start or grow.

This article relates to what Stanford says about the economic gender gap, at the end of Chapter 9. He mentions that poverty rates are especially high for single mothers and single female pensioners. (p.118) The article discusses some of the reasons why this poverty level exists in these two groups of women.