U.S. military assistance is finally on its way to Ukraine after months of being held up in Congress. Reactions to the US$61 billion spending package, signed into law by President Joe Biden on April 24, 2024, have ranged from applause to indignation. While few people could deny it includes ammunition and equipment that Washington’s besieged […]
Canada is falling behind its peers in terms of living standards — can it catch up?
Canada, once admired for its robust economic health and high living standards, now faces a worrying decline. The nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth trails its peers in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), while Canadian workers clock more hours for less output. Business investment is shrivelling while government expenditure is […]
Neediest areas are being shortchanged on government funds − even with programs designed to benefit poor communities
If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. And you would typically be right. This is the case even with programs that have been specifically designed to benefit low-income communities. Over the long […]
Nigeria’s minimum wage has never protected workers from poverty: here’s why
Wages have become the top issue for Nigeria’s organised labour movements in the past year. Reacting to recent increases in the cost of living, the labour movement has been calling for an upward review of the national minimum wage, currently N30,000 (US$24) a month. The Conversation’s Adejuwon Soyinka asks economics professor Stephen Onyeiwu if Nigeria’s […]
GDP is not enough to measure a country’s development. What if we used the Sustainable Development Goals instead?
Gross domestic product (GDP) has long been the main indicator of economic growth used almost everywhere in the world. However, the measurement does not take into account other factors essential to a country’s growth and development, such as social inequalities, the environment and the well-being of citizens. In the last ten years, the climate deadlock […]
Economic growth tops the priority list for Canadian policymakers — here’s why
Canada is currently experiencing anemic economic growth, meaning there is a slowdown in the total production of goods and services per capita. The real GDP growth forecast for 2024 is 0.7 per cent. Despite this, American economist Tyler Cowen recently wrote that Canadians have nothing to worry about when it comes to the economy. While […]
Rishi Sunak wants to cut the cost of ‘sicknote’ Britain. But we’ve found a strong economic case for benefits
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced a crackdown on sickness and disability benefits in order to end a “sicknote culture” and “over-medicalising the everyday challenges and worries of life”, in part because he claims that “good work” can actually improve mental and physical health. He instead wants to focus on “what people can do with […]
Should family members be in charge of family businesses? We analyzed 175 studies to understand when having a family CEO pays off
From Hermes to Smuckers to the fictional Waystar Royco of HBO’s “Succession,” family businesses often choose their CEOs from the ranks of kin. But is this a good business decision? As researchers who study entrepreneurship and management, we wanted to know whether keeping leadership in the family pays off for businesses. So we reviewed 175 […]
Indigenous businesses are worth billions but we don’t know enough about them
Indigenous businesses generate about A$16 billion a year in revenue and employ more than 116,000 people – almost as many as the massive Coles retail group. But the contribution of these businesses to the Australian economy has long been underestimated. This is despite Indigenous businesses delivering, among other things, important culturally sensitive health and education […]
Does ‘virtue signaling’ pay off for entrepreneurs? We studied 81,799 Airbnb listings to find out
The next time you’re searching through Airbnb listings, you may find there’s more to consider than just amenities and price. To stand out from the competition, some Airbnb hosts tout their personal values – such as integrity, empathy and conscientiousness – in listings for their properties. This sort of display has been called “virtue signaling.” […]