Category Archives: Original Articles

Original Articles October 20, 2023 No comments

Swiftian Economics – Resurgence or Trend?

Written By: Stefan Venceljovski

It is no secret that Taylor Swift is one of, if not the most successful artists to date. Her recent Eras tour has domineered headlines across the world as economists, policymakers, and Swifties alike try to comprehend the massive tyrant of money being injected into local economies and taken out of the pockets of spenders at a time when the geo-economic state of the world is shaky at best. Dubbed Swiftonomics or Swiftian Economics, the phenomenon of the Eras wave has rocked American cities and is expected to rock Toronto to its core. But what is the actual impact of her tour? Moreover, is her success pandemic resurgence, or is there a deeper trend in the history of mega stars propping up economies?

Original Articles August 11, 2023 No comments

Growing Pains – Lessons on Automation from the Industrial Revolution

Written By: Finn O’Connor

I’ve found it difficult, recently, to avoid hearing the term “Artificial Intelligence” as it seems the craze over sophisticated prediction models has infected every newsletter in my inbox. Every time I log into LinkedIn, I am bombarded with entrepreneurs developing vague “AI based solutions” that they reckon might change the world. At the same time, it seems like every occupation is a risk of being replaced by artificial humans that can perform any task better, and cheaper, than any lowly meat-bag. Though these fears are understandable, AI threatens the once untouchable domain of human thought upon which the information age was built. Of course, on the other hand, there is the age-old argument that while old jobs become obsolete, new ones we cannot even conceive of will replace them (I just recently learned my roommate works as an “AI prompt writer”). But while we can all look to the future to imagine what careers we might see in the next decade; it might also help to look to the past.

Original Articles July 5, 2023 1 Comment

The US Debt Ceiling: What’s All the Fuss About?

Written By: Jay Mistry

31.46 trillion dollars. You may be wondering what this figure is, one thing is for certain that this is a significant amount of money. This figure is the amount of money that the United States of America owes to its creditors. In recent history, the USA has been the biggest economy in the world, with a GDP of 23.32 trillion dollars (1). Along with being the biggest economy in the world, it also carries the most debt. In 1917, the United States came up with a measure to control the amount of debt the nation can surmount called the debt ceiling (2). In theory, this should keep a nation’s finance in line, but this can have some significant consequences on both the USA and the global economy.

Original Articles June 21, 2023 No comments

2023 US Banking Collapse: The Chain of Events in The Making

Written By: Gurkomal Gill

While the market was fixated on the interest rate hikes, March 2023 began with a string of 4 back-to-back bank failures in the United States. After Washington Mutual’s fall in 2008, First Republic Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapses were the second, third and fourth largest banking collapses in US, respectively (1). Bank runs and liquidity troubles were the start of woes for these banks. The panic among investors and swift withdrawals exposed the underlying liquidity crisis. This article dives into the developments unique to each bank and explores the commonalities that led to the crises.

Original Articles June 7, 2023 2 Comments

Breaking Down Barriers: Effective Solutions for Addressing Ethnolinguistic Fractionalization in Côte d’Ivoire

Written By: Sneha Elavarasan

The problem of ethnic division and civil conflict in developing countries is a complex issue with deep historical roots. The West African country of Côte d’Ivoire is no exception. Since its independence from France in 1960 the country has faced ethnic conflicts resulting in devastating civil wars and political instability. This article analyzes the causes of ethnic conflict in Côte d’Ivoire and recommends actionable proposals to resolve the conflict.