Group items tagged

This article from the Economist published in 2012 discusses recent changes to the Swedish economy and the lessons that Anglo-Saxon economies such as the US can learn from their example.

This is a resource from the Canada Revenue Agency about the underground economy, which was a term mentioned a couple of times in this week's notes. Though this document is skewed by the fact that it is produced by a government agency, it is still useful for getting more information and specifics.

Although a couple years old, this article points out some important/interesting factors related to our readings about what the Canadian economy needs.

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.

This site supports Friedman's three convergences of horizontalization, using new technologies with new ways of doing business, and the world now having access to plug-in and play. The article talks about outsourcing many services (especially within manufacturing) all over the world. In 2012, China was the 18th fastest growing economy in the world, with a real GDP growth rate (constant prices, national currency) of 7.8 percent. Although the figure is its slowest growth since 1999, it is also representative of a maturing economy as it gradually transition from a developing to developed nation.

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.  

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.

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.

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!

The Canadian economy shed 11,000 jobs in August but the unemployment rate stayed the same at seven per cent, Statistics Canada reported Friday. The figure was much less than economists were expecting. The consensus was that the economy would eke out a slight gain of about 10,000 jobs.

Maclean's article describing some pitfalls of American capitalism and how the Canadian more socialized system differs (and how it makes for fewer inequalities and a stronger nation). Published at macleans.ca, but written from an American perspective, and covering everything from unemployment to quality of life to a brief introduction into why the States fear the word "socialism".

This is not a test! Looking ahead to 2020, the U.S. proportion of the global talent pool will shrink even further as China and India, with their enormous populations, rapidly expand their secondary and higher education systems.

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.

Canada's footprint compared to biocapacity.

Knowing who your competitors are, and what they are offering, can help you to make your products, services and marketing stand out. It will enable you to set your prices competitively and help you to respond to rival marketing campaigns with your own initiatives.

I think this link relates to this weeks talk about competitiveness in the economy. It looks understanding who a companies competitors are as well as actions that can be taken to improve your own competitiveness.

What to learn how to establish a career in this new economy? Look no further than the current generation of young people - that is, those age 20 and younger. To uncover some interesting revelations about the newest generation, Gen Z, I partnered with the third-largest staffing organization in the United States, Randstad US, on a global study analyzing how Gen Z's views of the workplace compared to Gen Y's.

Ontario has a strong economy and many opportunities to offer newcomers. But finding a job takes hard work. It can also take time. It's a good idea to prepare for your job search before you leave for Ontario.

I saw that the Labour Market Information Service had already been previously commented on. So I decided to share this link on immigration in Ontario instead. It talks about finding work for new immigrants. This could be temporary or full time work.