Christopher Ragan

This principles of economics textbook is now in its 14th Canadian edition. The latest edition was published in February 2013.

The textbook is published by Pearson Canada. The textbook is available as a single hard-cover comprehensive volume (Economics) or as soft-cover splits, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.

I was the Editor-in-Chief of World Economic Affairs from its inception in the summer of 1996. We published eight issues over the next three years. WEA is no longer being published, but if there is someone "out there" who would like to bankroll it, we could dust it off anytime!

Below you will find a selection of articles and columns from the various issues, beginning with my editorials. All are in PDF format.

My editorials from World Economic Affairs:

• Summer 1996: Globalization and the Nation State
• Winter 1997: The Death of Inflation
• Spring 1997: The Debate Over Labour-Market Flexibility
• Autumn 1997: The Evolution of Fiscal Responsibility
• Spring 1998: The Demise of the 'Left-Right' Split
• Winter 1999: When Will We Learn the Easy Lessons
• Autumn 1999: Free Trade and Political Courage
• Autumn 2000: The Deceptive Exchange-Rate Debate

Selected articles and columns from World Economic Affairs:

Summer 1996: Table of Contents

• Pierre Fortin, What Can Be Done About Exchange Rates That Move Too Much?
• William Robson, Resisting the Lure of Fixed Exchange Rates
• Paul Volcker, Challenges Facing the International Monetary System
• Paul Kennedy, The Private Sector, the Nation-State, and International Organizations
• Jeffrey Sachs, Toward Peace and Prosperity

Winter 1997: Table of Contents

• Helmut Schmidt, The Desirability of a European Currency Union: A German Perspective
• Roger Bootle, The Death of Inflation
• John Crow, The Death of Inflation and Other Metaphors
• Paul Krugman (Interview), Fresh Thoughts From a Saltwater Economist
• Jerry Hausman and Gregory Leonard, Achieving Competition: Antitrust Policy and Consumer Welfare
• John Shingler, The Economic legacy of Apartheid

Spring/Summer 1997: Table of Contents

• Seamus Hogan, Should Governments Mandate Job Security?
• Marc Van Audenrode, A Partial defence of Job-Security Provisions
• Myron Frankman, The Rating Game and the Chilean Model Revisited
• John Kenneth Galbraith (Interview), Unconventional Wisdom
• Manuel Agosin, Capital Inflows and Economic Policy in Chile
• Archibald Ritter, The Rise of the Chilean Model of Economic Development

Autumn 1997: Table of Contents

• Paul Martin (Interview), Regaining Canada's Fiscal Levers
• Christopher Lingle, An Epilogue On an east Asian Summer of Truth
• Oliver Landmann, Can Switzerland Meet Its Latest Challenges?
• Sylvia Ostry, World Trade 50 Years After the Marshall Plan
• Hugh Courtney, Games Managers Should Play
• Sammy Linebaugh, Can the Private Sector Deal With Nuclear Stockpiles?
• Antal Deutsch, Pension Reform for Beginners: The Hungarian Case
• Jan-Peter Olters, On the Need for Political Union in Europe

Spring 1998: Table of Contents

• John Richards, The Welfare State as a Valuable Work In Progress
• John Pugsley, The Welfare State as a Failed Experiment
• Padraig Flynn, The Strength and Weakness of the European Social Model
• Stephen Poloz, How Will Central Bankers Cope With a Non-Inflationary World?
• Hugh Courtney, What is Business Strategy?
• Georges Tanguay, Will Kyoto Lead to World Trade in Pollution Permits?
• Christopher Barrett, Striking A Balance in the Process of Globalization
• Jan-Peter Olters, Some Doubts About France's 35-Hour Week
• Stephen Poloz, Gold Is Still Pretty Pricey

Winter 1999: Table of Contents

• John Cleghorn (Interview), A Case for Bank Mergers
• Archibald Ritter, Is Cuba's Economic Reform Process Paralyzed?
• Hugh Courtney, Keeping Your Options Open
• Jeffrey Sachs (Interview), The Devil's In the Details
• Joseph Stiglitz, The Future of the International Financial Architecture
• Milton Friedman (Interview), Confirmed Convictions
• Jeremy Leonard, Computers and Productivity in the Information Economy
• Stephen Poloz, Are We Headed for a Global Debt Crisis?

Autumn 1999: Table of Contents

• Patrick Crowley, Is North America ready for Monetary Union?
• Phil Riebel, Eco-Efficiency: The Next Step Toward Sustainable Development
• Brian Mulroney (Interview), Standing Firm on Free Trade
• Richard Lipsey, Free Trade: Real Results Versus Unreal Expectations
• Stanley Hartt, Revisiting the Myths of Free Trade
• James Baker (Interview), James Baker on International Trade and Finance
• William Watson, If Canada is Number One, Why Would Anyone Leave?

Autumn 2000: Table of Contents

• Ernesto Hernandez-Cata, Sub-Saharan Africa: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
• Gordon Thiessen, The Conduct of Monetary Policy When You Live Next Door to a Large Neighbour
• Michael Gavin, Monetary Integration for Latin America: An Unbalanced Perspective
• Pierre Fortin, Should Canada Dump Its Floating Regime?
• John Murray, Revisiting the Case for Canada's Flexible Exchange Rate
• Robert Mundell (Interview), Fixed Against Flexible Exchange Rates

The following editorial columns have appeared in various newspapers or magazines.

• Alberta Takes the Lead with Carbon-Pricing Policy, The Edmonton Journal, May 31, 2016 (with Bev Dahlby and Jim Dinning).
• The Good News and the Bad in Ontario’s New Climate Legislation, The Globe and Mail, May 25, 2016.
• British Columbia’s Carbon Tax is an Opportunity for Christy Clark, The Globe and Mail (B.C. Edition), May 10, 2016.
• The Long-Term Growth Challenge: So Many Questions, So Few Easy Answers, The Globe and Mail, April 26, 2016.
• The Monetary Madness of Trump, Cruz, and Rubio, The Globe and Mail, March 8, 2016.
• Why Saskatchewan Should Join the Carbon-Pricing Club, The Globe and Mail, February 29, 2016.
• We Should Be Thankful Stephen Poloz Understands Monetary Policy's Limits, The Globe and Mail, February 23, 2016.
• Two Blessings and a Curse Facing Alberta's Oil Industry, The Globe and Mail, February 10, 2016.
• Piecing Together the Federal-Provincial Climate Puzzle, The Globe and Mail, January 26, 2016.
• More Angst Than Mystery In the Loonie's Decline , The Globe and Mail, January 12, 2016.
• Climate Policy Should Focus on Pricing, Not Targets , The Globe and Mail, December 29, 2015.
• Deficits Are a Poor Measure of Canada's Fiscal Prudence , The Globe and Mail, December 16, 2015.
• Boomers, Infrastructure Will Force Redesign of Canada's Fiscal Federalism , The Globe and Mail, December 2, 2015.
• A Low-Carbon Economy Priced to Compete? Yes , The Globe and Mail, November 19, 2015.
• Congestion Pricing Can Incentivize Drivers to Reduce Traffic , The Globe and Mail, November 3, 2015.
• We Need A Serious Conversation About Congestion Pricing , The Vancouver Sun, November 2, 2015 (with Jock Finlayson).
• Social Mobility is the Other Victim of Traffic Congestion , The Toronto Star, November 2, 2015 (with Kevin Vuong).
• Price the Roads to Ease Congestion , The National Post, November 2, 2015 (with Peter McCaffrey).
• Here's Hoping Our New PM Invests in Public Goods , The Globe and Mail, October 27, 2015.
• A Few Small Deficits May Actually Be Just What Canada Needs , The Globe and Mail, October 6, 2015.
• Why Carbon Pricing Will Help to Secure Alberta's Economic Future, The Globe and Mail, September 22, 2015.
• Smooth Transition Needed for Carbon Pricing and Free Trade , The Globe and Mail, August 11, 2015.
• Joe Oliver Should Let the Bank of Canada Speak for Itself , The Globe and Mail, July 28, 2015.
• HOV Lane Experiment Proves We're No Dummies , The Toronto Star, July 16, 2015 (with Jessie Sitnick).
• Ottawa's Fiscal Policy Needs to Promote Growth, Not Just Avoid Deficits , The Globe and Mail, July 14, 2015.
• Pacific Trade Deal an Opportunity for Canadian Dairy to Expand and Export , The Globe and Mail, June 30, 2015.
• Economist Adam Smith's Greatest Legacy is His Balanced Approach, The Globe and Mail, June 16, 2015.
• Nova Scotia in Carbon-Pricing Caboose , The Halifax Chronicle Herald, June 4, 2015 (with Elizabeth Beale).
• Where 1000 Economists Reach the Same Conclusion , The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2015.
• Alberta's New Climate Policy is Too Important to Get Wrong , The Calgary Herald, May 21, 2015 (with Steve Williams and Justin Smith).
• The Difficult Balance of Earnings and Environmental Ethics , The Globe and Mail, May 19, 2015.
• The Best of Both Worlds: Why We Don't Need to Choose Between a Carbon Price and a Profitable Energy Sector , Alberta Oil Magazine, May, 2015.
• Independent Agency Needed to Manage Ontario's Cap and Trade , The Globe and Mail, May 5, 2015.
• Canada 2015: A Remarkable Economic Transformation , The Globe and Mail, April 21, 2015.
• Four Things Ontario's Cap-and-Trade System Must Get Right , (with Paul Boothe), The Globe and Mail, April 16, 2015.
• Quebec's Carbon-Pricing System Could be a Model for Other Provinces, (with Jean Charest), The Globe and Mail, April 8, 2015.
• Carbon Pricing with a Practical Canadian Twist , The Globe and Mail, April 7, 2015.
• How to Avoid the Curse of Alberta's Boom-Bust Cycle , The Globe and Mail, March 24, 2015.
• There Are No 'Good Guys' and 'Bad Guys' in Climate Change, The Globe and Mail, March 10, 2015.
• A Necessary Fiscal Plan for Greece and Europe , The Globe and Mail, February 25, 2015.
• Stephen Poloz and His Job Are Still Misunderstood , The Globe and Mail, February 11, 2015.
• Balancing the Budget Would Be Bad Timing by Ottawa , The Globe and Mail, January 27, 2015.
• Blame Germany for Europe's Economic Nightmare, The Globe and Mail, January 13, 2015.
• The Sensible Middle in the Climate-Change Debate , The Globe and Mail, December 30, 2014.
• Poloz Caught Between Debt and an Oil Price , The Globe and Mail, December 16, 2014.
• Another (Macro) Defence of Economics 101 , The Globe and Mail, December 2, 2014.
• Pricing Pollution is the Right Solution , Halifax Chronicle Herald, November 21, 2014 (with Annette Verschuren).
• How to Heal the Deep Scars from the Financial Crisis , The Globe and Mail, November 18, 2014.
• Prospérité économique et environnementale:, Le Devoir, November 8, 2014 (with Jean Charest).
• 'Ecofiscal' policies adjust market forces for the sake of the environment , Montreal Gazette, November 5, 2014 (with Jean Charest).
• To Ensure Prosperity, Canada Needs Ecofiscal Policies, The Globe and Mail, November 5, 2014.
• In Defence of Economics 101, The Globe and Mail, October 21, 2014.
• The Economic Basket Case that is the Euro Zone , The Globe and Mail, October 7, 2014.
• Busting Some Popular Monetary Myths , The Globe and Mail, September 23, 2014.
• Why Textbooks Are So Expensive , The Globe and Mail, September 10, 2014.
• Quebec-Ontario Electricity Trade is Smart, But Not Simple , The Globe and Mail, August 26, 2014.
• Canada’s Limited Solutions to its Slow-Growth Recovery, The Globe and Mail, August 12, 2014.
• Ontario is left with few options to fix its revenue problem, The Globe and Mail, July 29, 2014.
• Only Higher Taxes Will Cure Ontario's Fiscal Ills, The Globe and Mail, July 15, 2014.
• Business Uncertainty a Roadblock on the Path to Economic Recovery, The Globe and Mail, July 1, 2014.
• Harper's Got It All Wrong On the Job-Killing Carbon Tax , The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2014.
• For Canada, A Strong Economy and Healthy Environment Can Co-Exist, The Globe and Mail, June 4, 2014.
• Ontario's Politicians Fail Voters with Pie-in-the-Sky Economic Policies, The Globe and Mail, May 20, 2014.
• For the biggest bang in foreign aid, small and targeted is the best , The Globe and Mail, May 6, 2014.
• For A Fairer and Richer Society, Make the Polluters Pay , The Globe and Mail, April 22, 2014.
• Joe Oliver's Big Challenge: Living with Budget Surpluses , The Globe and Mail, April 8, 2014.
• In Favouring Accuracy, Central Bankers Get the Message Right , The Globe and Mail, March 25, 2014.
• The Staggering Price of Quebec Independence , The Globe and Mail, March 18, 2014. A version of the column in French is found here: En Francais
• A Canadian Growth Agenda: Nice Sentiment, Complicated Reality The Globe and Mail, March 4, 2014.
• Money and Inflation 101: Class Is in Session , The Globe and Mail , February 18, 2014.
• Shadow Carbon Prices Could Make the Real Thing Easier to Swallow, The Globe and Mail , February 4, 2014.
• The Right Central Bankers for the Times , The Globe and Mail , January 21, 2014.
• It's Time to Focus on Canada's Long-Term Problems , The Globe and Mail , January 7, 2014.
• The Most Efficient Holiday Gift of All , The Globe and Mail , December 24, 2013.
• Harper's Distaste for a Carbon Tax is Bad for the Economy , The Globe and Mail , December 10, 2013.
• The Bizarre Political Optics of Free-Trade Agreements, The Globe and Mail , November 26, 2013.
• Who Pays for Higher Corporate Taxes? We All Do , The Globe and Mail , November 12, 2013.
• No to Balanced-Budget Laws, Yes to Sound Budgeting , The Globe and Mail , October 29, 2013.
• Canada's Central Banker Needs to Explain His Hands-Off Approach, The Globe and Mail , October 15, 2013.
• Canada's Job Recovery May Not Be the Envy of the World After All, The Globe and Mail , October 1, 2013.
• The 2008 Crisis Wasn't Unique -- But Will We Ever Learn? , The Globe and Mail , September 17, 2013.
• Don't Confuse Business Interests with Economic Interests , The Globe and Mail , August 27, 2013.
• Ben Bernanke's Homage to Milton Friedman , The Globe and Mail , August 6, 2013.
• Europe's Austerians Need A Lesson in Macroeconomics , The Globe and Mail , July 17, 2013.
• The Seductive Myth of the Overvalued Dollar , The Globe and Mail , June 25, 2013.
• Carney's Bold Entrance, Poloz's Measured Exit , The Globe and Mail , June 5, 2013.
• Bank of Canada's Growth View is Clouded with Hazy Thinking , The Globe and Mail , May 28, 2013.
• Pragmatic conservatives missing in climate-change debate , The Globe and Mail (on-line "Economy Lab"), May 14, 2013.
• Demographic Debt Wall , Financial Post, November 25, 2011.
• Still On Target , Financial Post, November 9, 2011. (With Finn Poschmann.)
• Broader Will Not Mean Better , Canadian Business Magazine, November 1, 2011.
• Preserve the Value of Our Money , The National Post, February 18, 2011.
• Don't Inflate Inflation: New deal with Bank of Canada should lower target to 1% , The National Post, February 17, 2011.
• On Carbon Pricing, Private Sector Shows the Way, The Globe and Mail, Report on Business, January 31, 2011. (With Nancy Olewiler and Alex Wood.)
• Carefully Crafting An Economic Gift , The Montreal Gazette, December 18, 2008.
• What Is to Be Done? Stick to 2% Solution , The Montreal Gazette, November 13, 2008.
• Seriously, Let's Cut All Corporate Taxes , The Montreal Gazette, October 2, 2008.
• Conservatives Can't Claim Triumph Yet , The Montreal Gazette, August 28, 2008.
• Have Conservative Economics Won Out? , The Montreal Gazette, August 21, 2008.
• Properly Implemented, Carbon Tax Has Merit, The Montreal Gazette, July 17, 2008.
• Carbon Tax Could Benefit Less Wealthy , The Montreal Gazette, June 5, 2008.
• Opportunity in High Prices , The Montreal Gazette, May 15, 2008.
• Bernanke Keeps His Balance On A Tightrope , The Montreal Gazette, April 10, 2008.
• TFSAs Will Be Ineffective, Burdensome , The National Post, March 11, 2008.
• Reasons to Derail the Gravy Train, The Montreal Gazette , February 20, 2008.
• Controlling Inflation Is What the Job's All About , The Montreal Gazette , January 10, 2008.
• Bring Down the Welfare Wall (with J. Leonard and F. St-Hilaire), The National Post, November 22, 2007.
• Setting Policy Priorities for Canada (with J. Leonard and F. St-Hilaire), The Hill Times, October 29, 2007.
• GST Plan: A Productive Idea (with J. Leonard and F. St-Hilaire), The National Post, October 24, 2007.
• Just Let DoE Energy Officials Do Their Job (with D. Ragan), The Calgary Herald, July 6, 2007.
• The Bank of Canada's Inflation Target Task , The National Post, December 13, 2006.
• The Next Fiscal War (with W. Watson), The National Post, January 21, 2004.
• Leave Interest Rates Alone , The National Post, January 20, 2004.
• Abolish RRSPs? Yes!, The Ottawa Citizen, January 30, 1997.
• Now's the Time to Put GST On Groceries, The Financial Post, May 22, 1991.

The following short columns appeared in the "Overview" column in the National Post Business magazine between October 1999 and August 2001.

• August 2001: Resizing the Pie. Ottawa should cut business subsidies -- and business taxes.
• May 2001: Fear Itself. The economy of 2001 is a bust. Do we have only ourselves to blame?
• March 2001: Smog For Sale. Are tradeable emissions permits a deal with the devil, or good sense?
• January 2001: Smooth Sailing? We've had year after year of prosperity. Can it last forever?
• November 2000: Not So Evil After All. Government debt can be good, when it's used to benefit future generations.
• September 2000: It Doesn't Work. Why government make-work programs can't create jobs.
• July 2000: How Un-Canadian! Why are we so unwilling to embrace new ideas?
• May 2000: Goodbye to All That. Our system of support for the poor is complicated and unfair. Let's scrap it.
• February 2000: Pay Up, Students. Our universities are withering and only students' wallets can save them.
• January 2000: Dividing Up the Surplus. How big a tax cut do you want? Sorry, that's the wrong question.
• December 1999: It's the Economy, Stupid. Is a falling dollar a problem? Depends on why it's falling.
• October 1999: What New Economy? Why the new economy doesn't mean boundless growth with zero inflation.

The following radio and television interviews are available for listening or downloads:

• September 15, 2011 Interview about the state of the Canadian economy, the need for further stimulus, and the need to place more emphasis on labour-market policies than traditional macro policies. CFMU (Hamilton), 93.3 FM, hosted by Geoff Langhorne.
• August 8, 2011Interview about the downgrade of U.S. government debt, the subsequent crashes in the stock market, and what it all means for the Canadian economy. CBC Radio (Montreal), "Daybreak" (with Germain Belzil, hosted by Mike Finnerty).
• August 1, 2011 Interview about the debate over the raising of the U.S. debt ceiling, and what it means for the Canadian economy. CBC Radio (Montreal), "Daybreak" (hosted by Sabrina Marandola).
• December 14, 2008 Interview about the worsening economy, the recent large interest-rate cut by the Bank of Canada, and the need for fiscal stimulus. CBC Radio (Montreal), "All In A Weekend" (hosted by Dave Bronstetter).
• November 19, 2008 Interview about the Throne Speech and the stated economic priorities for the federal government. CBC Radio (Montreal), "Home Run" (hosted by Bernard St. Laurent).
• November 14, 2008. Interview about the connection between the stock market ands the real economy. CBC National Radio, "As It Happens" (interviewed by Carol Off). Click here and then select Part 3 for the interview. My part of the 30-minute story begins at minute 8 and lasts for 6 minutes.
• October 7, 2008. Interview about the desirability of the Canadian government committing itself to avoiding a budget deficit with the possible arrival of a recession. CBC National Radio, "As It Happens" (interviewed by Carol Off). Click here and then select Part 1 for the interview. My interview begins at 11:15 and lasts for roughly 7 minutes.
• October 7, 2008. Interview about the possibility of a Canadian recession and what government can do about it. CBC Radio (Montreal), "Daybreak" (hosted by Mike Finnerty).
• October 4, 2008 Interview about the implications of the passage of the $700 billion "bailout" of the financial system in the United States, and the fundamental causes of the problems. CBC Radio (Montreal), "All in a Weekend" (hosted by Dave Bronstetter).
• September 20, 2008 Interview about the events in the US financial markets -- Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and more. CBC Radio (Montreal), "All in a Weekend" (hosted by Dave Bronstetter).
• February 1, 2008 Interview about the challenges to be faced by incoming Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, CBC National Radio, "The Current" (hosted by Maureen Taylor, debate with Jim Stanford).
• January 26, 2008 [.ram] Interview about the recent stock-market volatility, the Bank of Canada, and the coming economic slowdown, CBC Radio (Montreal), "All in a Weekend" (hosted by Dave Bronstetter).