This week for our final newsletter of the term – contest results, employment data, and more!
Written By: Amit Shteyer & Peter Robertson
Canada’s Economy at a Glance
Economics Society News, Events, and Articles
UWES News
We are hiring! Check out the link in our instagram bio and apply to the open positions by August 22nd.
We are looking for mentors! ECON-nection is a mentorship program that will be offered to students in their 2A term in the fall. If you are an upper year student who is interested in being a mentor, please email us at uw.economics.society@gmail.com by August 20th.
Our stock contest for this semester is officially over! The winner is: sidxg. Congratulations! The final results are in the table below.
Please keep an eye out for a new and improved version of the contest next semester!
News and Noteworthy
The ‘tragedy of the commons’ and why it is helping to scorch our planet
The tragedy of the commons has often been used in relation to environmental issues, and the problems of an overheating planet is no exception. The atmosphere is one of the most important common pooled resources, meaning that carbon levels are affected similarly worldwide regardless of how many greenhouse gases a specific country produces. We all affect the world as a whole when it comes to climate change. Read more.
Alberta oil production 86.2% higher than it was in 2010
Oil production in Alberta averaged at 3.53 million barrels a day in the first half of 2021, which is a record high. This is a 5.7% increase from the same period in 2020. The majority of this is accounted for by oil sands extraction. Read more.
Ahead of Canada’s election, investors eye signs of fiscal turning point
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to call a snap election in late september. With this in mind, investors have been hoping that Canada’s next government will decrease fiscal spending in order to support the economy in recovering from a long time deficit. Read more.
The Tokyo Olympics cost US$15.4 billion. What else could that buy?
The $15.4 Billion 2020 Olympics held recently in Tokyo were the most expensive on record according to Oxford researchers. The postponement of the Olympics last year significantly increased the cost of holding them by an extra $2.8 Billion paid by the Japanese government. German sports economist Wolfgang Maening says “After three decades of empirical research, economists agree that the Olympics do not generate any significant positive effect on national (or even regional) income, employment, tax income, tourism etc.,”. Read more.
Canada added 94,000 jobs in July, pushing jobless rate down to 7.5%
New employment data released last week by StatCan revealed that Canada added 94 000 jobs in July – an underwhelming result based on forecasts. The majority of jobs added in July were in Ontario and were full-time positions. Read more.
Telesat closer to financing satellite network after Canada investment
The Canadian government agreed to invest $1.44 Billion in the Ottawa-based telecom company Telesat on Thursday. Telesat is seeking to provide affordable high-speed satellite internet to Canadians living in rural areas. Telesat is rushing to get its product to market before high-profile competitors like Elon Musk’s Starlink project. Read more.
Recommended Listen
This Is Your Brain on Pollution
Air pollution is estimated to cause 7 million deaths a year and cost the global economy nearly $3 trillion. But is the true cost even higher? Stephen Dubner explores the links between pollution and cognitive function, and enlists two fellow Freakonomics Radio Network hosts in a homegrown experiment.