Fashion has always been an integral part of self-expression. However, we are often unaware of the costs associated with buying fashion from many famous retail brands in terms of their ethical and human rights violations. It often makes me wonder why governments and big corporations continue to operate and support sweatshops when they have the…
These days, it’s all too common to hear discussion about the housing crisis. The rising rent, the sky-high house prices, the decline in home ownership—they’re all symptoms of a growing dynamic. From the mid-2000s, right around the time of the subprime mortgage crisis, several shifts have conspired to make cities increasingly unaffordable. First, many cities…
Last Friday, a new fuel tax break came into effect in Alberta. The policy, championed by Premier Jason Kenney, would dispense with the existing 13 cent per litre provincial tax on gasoline and diesel. It seems like a straightforward strategy: help reduce the burden of soaring fuel prices from consumers. It’s also immediately visible. Perhaps…
Inspired by the macroeconomics course I am currently self-learning, I wanted to share a new perspective that has donned on me since the beginning of semester 2. Prior to second semester Grade 12, I had essentially zero experience in the economic world. (Unless you count the financial literacy class I took in Grade 8.) I…
Basic economic theory as we know it today is based heavily on a series of generalizations about how people act. That looks like describing the movement of prices in response to changes in supply. It also looks like looking at how government spending would affect the unemployment rate. Today, the models economists use to predict…
It’s easy to picture how someone’s personal interests can go against the social good. Just consider a noisy conversation in a library that makes it difficult for everyone to concentrate. Think about how secondhand smoke negatively impacts others—it doesn’t just affect the smoker. Even driving in congested areas isn’t particularly helpful to society since it…
We’ve all heard some variation of the minimum wage debate before. People often talk about what workers deserve; a living wage that provides an acceptable standard of living—that it’s something everyone has an inherent right to. Economic conservatives, however, have long defended a low minimum wage, claiming that government action in the economy will lead…
The environmental consequences of carbon dioxide emissions are clear; it contributes to over three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions,1 exacerbating climate change and its innumerable consequences. Action needs to take place now, but truly taking action in an ever-expanding economy has proven and will continue to be a substantial hurdle. For this reason, moving forward,…
Very rarely is there an issue that polarizes constituents in Canada such as the Trans-mountain pipeline. From those against the pipeline, we see an argument being made that the expansion to the already-existing Trans-mountain pipeline is an unnecessary project which endangers the ecosystem, and aside from the usual rhetoric of environmental-protectionism we also see many indigenous…
I was recently introduced to a new website called “Dollar Street”. The first time I visited it, I was on the site for almost an hour. The website is a collection of families all over the world with different incomes. The objective of this is to show what it’s really like in various countries we…
February 5th saw some of the worst drops in the market in history. Was this an isolated incident, or did it point to the start of something worse?
The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and life goes on. But why does it have to be this way?
Hey guys, I decided to try something new 🙂 Check out my first Career Advice Vlog! Enjoy 🙂
Click here for part 1. So, How Well Does Econ Pay? *I got the average salaries from your career counsellor approved occinfo.alis.alberta.ca. Let me start by just showing how an economics degree is a good stepping stone: Geology majors ideally become a geologist. Civil engineering trains you to become an engineer. Accounting paves your path to…
This degree: Keeps your GPA high Grants you work opportunities after four years Is a top scorer in MCAT and LSAT Lets you earn more in average than an Engineering degree Allows for an easy double majors or multiple minors Is in demand Is one of the best degrees to take to PhD level Has…