Coming in 2025 - my new book on the way that climate and the circular economy will impact the future of work. Will be writing over the next months and am booking keynotes on the material now - stay tuned for more!...
Always a pleasure to work with Fidelity on their Fidelity Connects webcast, had a great discussion about the way that climate is changing the economy and the future of work. ...
Did you graduate during a recession and if so did it impact the rest of your life? In this Globe and Mail article I wrote about the experience of those who started their careers in the deep-recession year of 1982 and who did feel the...
Such a pleasure to speak with American Express clients at their recent virtual event. Here is a short clip from the opening of my presentation on economics and the future of work. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://relentlesseconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/amexclipshort.mp4"][/video]...
Was great to be in Ottawa to present to appy to be in Ottawa today to present to the Canadian Crops Convention #CdnCrops23 at their first in-person event in three years! We talked about the global economic outlook and about the megatrends that are shifting...
Fair or not, people will trade off wage hikes for the ability to work from home. Read more in my latest piece from the Globe and Mail here...
What an amazing event! Had the pleasure of both speaking and leading a workshop for advertising agency Dentsu on the future of work in finance. Great to be part of the discussion (and to enjoy their gorgeous workspace!). ...
The price of everything is spiralling which means all of the calculations that people made about retirement may need to be re-calculated. That might mean staying in the workforce longer or maybe returning after you have exited it. Whatever decisions people make will have wide...
Happy to be quoted in this article in Bloomberg Opinion on inflation and how that is impacting generational spending choices. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-01-02/millennials-are-finally-buying-houses-what-does-that-mean-for-inflation...
What are the trends around the future of work we should be watching as we get into 2022? I take. a look at them in my latest column for the Globe and Mail...
Remote work is not going anywhere so was great to be part of a panel hosted by the Globe and Mail to discuss the implications of it, You can see more here ...
Was great to have the chance to talk about the 4-day workweek with Anne Gaviola of Global News this week...
Do not get me wrong, I love tourism as an industry and have huge respect for its economic force. I want to see it grow, and frankly I want to keep travelling myself. However, I cannot ignore the conflicts between tourism and climate change and...
After I give keynote presentations at conferences, I often do a Q & A session, and inevitably people ask what they can do or what their kids can do to make sure that they are not left behind as the tech revolution (this one, we...
The 'nine-nine-six culture' (working nine to nine, six days a week) is something close to the norm for Chinese tech workers who are supposed to embrace it with no complaints. Now, some are pushing back on it, and employers are not thrilled (and are not...
I am thrilled to announce that my book Work Is Not a Place: Our Lives and Our Organizations in the Post-Jobs Economy has been nominated for Canada's National Business Book Award. Last year at this time I was sitting looking at my laptop and wondering...
Automation is cool in so many ways and it is going to do great things for business. It is even going to create amazing new jobs that we cannot even get our minds around yet. But here's the thing: they may not be jobs for...
My latest column for the Globe and Mail sparked a bit of a reaction – I got a lot more comments than usual. The subject? ‘Class’, and whether originally coming from a lower socioeconomic class hurt people’s careers right from the time they sent out...
Seems like a ridiculous concept (at least in North America) but some British researchers say you should. I see it more as a sweetly retro concept, a last ditch effort to separate work and leisure. See my Globe and Mail column on the subject here ...
You pay too much in taxes right? Well, everyone thinks they do, but honestly some people have more of a case than others: single taxpayers (who are a growing group) are actually the ones getting hid the hardest these days. See my column about it...
You pay too much in taxes right? Well, everyone thinks they do, but honestly some people have more of a case than others: single taxpayers (who are a growing group) are actually the ones getting hid the hardest these days. See my column about it...
Changing technology is turning into tragedy for some of those whose lives and likelihoods are…but I don’t think we can legislate change away. See my latest piece for the Globe and Mail and here....
The Organisation for Economic Development has put some odds on the you-vs.-automation battle for your job. The net net is that automation is coming and that Canada (and other countries) net a plan. See my new piece for the Globe and Mail here ...
Due to popular demand, I've added a new speaking topic: The Side Hustle Economy. The Globe and Mail column I wrote on it garnered a lot of interest and I'm looking forward to expanding on it on the speaking circuit. Here is a brief synopsis...
Side Hustles are not just a tiresome millennial trend - they are how a lot of people are filling in income gaps. If you want to know what one looks like on a royal scale check out the Queen, who has made $9 million plus...
March 8th was International Women's Day and I had the good fortune to celebrate it in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, speaking to the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce. The occasion was their 'Trailblazers Lunch' which honoured high-achieving women in their community. It was a great event, and...
Canada just presented its Federal Budget, which was ostensibly about helping women's economic power. I'm kind of underwhelmed (and old-fashioned enough to wish they would just balance the books, for everyone's sake). Here is my piece on it for the Globe and Mail ...
A blog that covers economic and labor market trends may seem to be a strange place for a fiction book review. Then again, maybe not. The changes now going on in the workplace are saga-worthy, and there is something to be said for looking at...
Demographics always matter - even when we are talking about the Olympics. Here is my latest for the Globe and Mail, which talks [caption id="attachment_2029" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir carry the flag of Canada during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics...
My latest piece for the Globe and Mail tackles the issue of the pay gap between men and women in Hollywood. It isn't fair, but what is exactly? See it here...
Here is my latest piece for the Globe and Mail. I write about - hot topic these days- minimum wages but more specifically why they are an issue at a time when the unemployment rate is so low. I mean, the market should be pushing...
Of all the things I do work-wise, one of my favorites is speaking to live audiences. You cannot fake it: you are up in front of people who are investing their time and you have to give them something that makes them believe it was...
My latest piece for the Globe and Mail on why Prince Harry is one of many young men 'marrying up' ...
Here is my latest column the Globe and Mail. The subject is youth unemployment and underemployment...
Is there a better way to see the future of work than to follow the drama that is Uber? The ride-hailing service burst on to the scene in San Francisco just about six years ago and nothing has been the same ever since. From how...
Walmart buying Modcloth? ‘Say it’s not so’ went the lament from Millennials and other assorted cool people earlier this year. After all, Modcloth is a cutting-edge, online retailer that offers funky clothes for those who consider themselves the opposite of everything the world’s biggest retailer...
North America is aging, and a lot of the rest of the world is aging as well. It is something to think about as we consider where we are going to get the labor we need to grow our economies in the years ahead. That...
Demographics drives a lot of things including Mergers and Acquisitions (M & A) activity. That is a lesson we are now learning from Japan, where there are apparently too few heirs to take over large companies as their boomer-aged Chief Executives head for retirement. This piece...
There are a lot of things robots can do, but they cannot make societies any younger. Canada and the U.S. are aging – there is little debate about that. What exactly that will mean for the labor force and the economy is a bit more up...
The inside itself is still a work in progress, but here is the (provisional) cover of my upcoming book Work Is Not a Place: Reimagining Our Lives and Our Organizations in the Post-Jobs Economy. I am at work on it and the plan is to...
So I see it as kind of too little too late, but Canada's 2017/18 Federal Budget (presented yesterday) did kind of address some of the big labour market issues to come. Skills Development and Innovation were kind of themes, but identifying the issues is really...
If I had to think of an industry prone to poisonous industrial relations battles I would probably think first or the auto sector, or maybe even something like education or health. The battles in those industries, however, are apparently being matched by orchestras (can I...
Collaboration, sharing ideas, boosting creativity, creating bonds – all of these are reasons that are typically given for having open plan workspaces. Sit next to your colleagues in an open plan office or cubicle, goes the reasoning, and productivity will rise. Not so, says new...
Maybe I’m late to the party, but it was only recently that I heard the phrase ‘side hustle’. Apparently it has been around a while: way back in 2013, Entrepreneur.com tacked up an online definition, calling ‘a way to make some extra cash that allows...
Robots, joined by Gig Workers, are now making Twinkies, and they are doing such a good job that their parent company is going public. That’s a powerful statement about today’s manufacturing and economy, never mind our nutritional preferences. Twinkies, those flaky, cream-filled snack cakes that are...
A year ago most of the us knew little to nothing about the Zika virus, but at the mid-point of 2016, it appears that its existence is one factor that could disrupt world economic activity for years to come. The existence of the Zika virus...
Here’s a new one to me: the ‘divorce mortgage’. No its not some crazy, invented term to describe a financing vehicle (my mind went back to ‘plain vanilla swaps’ from the days when derivatives were the buzz), but rather exactly what it sounds like: a...
You might not have noticed it, what with one economic crisis and stock market meltdown after another grabbing your attention, but the last few decades have actually been great ones for investors. Thanks to a perfect storm of factors, investment returns for the period from...
Goodness knows, there is nothing better for the economy that productive workers. After all, an economy grows through having people working, and by having their hours at work be efficient. That can come through having them use the right equipment, or just by having them...
The rise of Robo Advisors highlights a trend of jobs traditionally thought of as high skill potentially being replaced by technology...
Billionaires are getting a bad rap these days. We would love to see the middle class (good luck defining what that is) expand, and the poor shrink in numbers. Even millionaires are more or less okay, since what with real estate wealth and all it...
We all know the how the narrative goes: manufacturing is dead, and those old cities known as industrial centers are as well. It is not a hard case to make it if you take a quick tour of places like Pittsburgh or Detroit in the...
Millennial women want to launch global careers but companies are missing the boat by not giving them what they want. That’s one of the most interesting points I found from reading the new study by consulting firm PwC on talent pool of Millennial women, published...
Twenty and thirtysomethings would apparently rather buy experiences than things, and that has some very definite implications for retailers – or as least that is one theory. As this article from Bloomberg Business suggests, the stock market tells the tale of what is happening very...
Way back when I studied economics, I don’t actually remember learning what a ‘negative interest rate’ was. In fact, even a few years ago when I taught graduate-level economics (a whole other post), I don’t remember it being in the curriculum, or even being asked...
When people rhyme off the things they want to do in retirement, ‘pay off debts’ is never on the list. Nevertheless, it is something that baby boomers will have to do anyway, if data from the New York Federal Reserve (NY Fed) is to be...
Like it or not, the sharing economy is everywhere. I’ll go as far as saying it will be one of the big economic stories of 2016, although its influence will extend far longer than that. It’s a different way to do business, and it works...
New study says it is better to avoid toxic employees tha...
..And What are the Odds That they Will Do It? I am happy to be included in the 'Ten Thinkers' That the Globe and Mail asked to answer that question. See my answer (and everyone else's) here.....
The ‘sharing economy’ is apparently making inroads in the education field. These days, savvy teachers are selling their wares on a site called TeachersPayTeachers.com, which is a kind of Etsy for teaching plans and the like. In fact, the CEO of the company is a...
Young voters seem to be okay with allowing their parents and grandparents to choose their political leaders. Could things change in Canada's October election? For this piece for the Speaker's Spotlight website (they do a great job representing me if you'd like to book me...
We all say it, and we worry about it too: we are an aging society, and that’s going to have repercussions. In Canada, the median age of the population is now close to 41 while in the U.S. it is still-youthful 37ish but rising (according...
I admit, I have watched television shows set in law firms for a long time now. When I was young and impressionable, I watched the excitement on L.A. Law and was intrigued enough to eventually take the Law School Admissions Test (I did get accepted...
Everybody hates the suburbs right? Or at least all the cool people. They talk about a return to the downtowns, about walkable spaces, about riding bikes to work. It is all interesting stuff, but are people really rallying against the suburbs? Any look at population...
Etsy (ETSY) and I go way back. My first purchase from the online crafts marketplace was a set of personalized aprons to give as a gift that I bought back in 2010. Since then I’ve purchased baby blankets, Christmas ornaments, a ton of custom invitations,...
“I’m trying for Freedom 95” says a friend explaining his retirement plans. It’s a joke, sort of. Some people try, or used to try, to save enough to get out of the labor force a good ten years ahead of the norm, and maybe they...
How can a city with a unemployment rate of 19 percent scoff at any industry, especially one that accounts for 15 percent of its GDP? That was my first thought when I heard that the city of Barcelona is actively pursuing a strategy to keep...
Hey I’m a politician – again! I’ve declared to be a candidate for Town Council in my home town for a by election coming up in a few weeks. It’s my second try at this, given that I unsuccessfully made a bid for a seat...
If you were a brand new graduate from a top tier university, you had a degree that made you a hot item and you could work anywhere at all, where would you choose? Say it came down to Wall Street or Silicon Valley – both...
Trust me, I am not saying that ‘Oprah’s Favorite Things’ are a good approximation of anyone’s holiday shopping list. Still, I think it is an economic indicator, of a type, just the same. The Queen of Daytime Talk (and the Forbes-magazine certified 580th richest person in...
Thought I would post this nice book review of Economorphics that appeared in the publication Canadian Government Executive. The reviewer (Harvey Schachter, who also writes for the Globe and Mail) says that ' Economorphics is a book that government executives can learn from, as they establish...
Is being a ‘solopreneur’ – someone who basically runs their own shop –a good thing or a bad thing for the economy? We had better figure it out, because apparently the number of them (us actually, I am one as well) are increasing a phenomenal...
Yes, it is an economic story. Goodness knows the Jian Ghomeshi mess has a little something for everyone - horror, drama and apparently porn – but if you were making a movie it could also be a financial thriller. So much of the drama of...
A long time ago, when I was deciding what to do when I grew up, I gave some thought to being a newspaper reporter. I liked to write, I was good at it, it sounded fun. I have always been a practical person though, so...
Hey – I just lost an election! It was not exactly a surprise – I was going up against a 10-year incumbent and I only put a couple of months and a relatively small amount of money into the battle – but it is disappointing...
I wasn’t a tween and did not have a tween in the 1990s when Delia’s when in its heyday, but I certainly remember its cute logo, a mix of upper and lower case lettering. It was a regular in malls, a bright presence full of...
I had no complaints, really, the last time I called a plumber. The nice lady on the phone (Lorraine) was efficient, she gave me a four hour window and sent out a cheerful plumber (Brent). He fixed the pipes under my sink then gave me...
I have to admit, following the antics of the world’s central banks has been a bit of a bore the past few years. Since the end of the financial crisis (no, we are no going to debate whether there is a still a crisis going...
It is a reality, and it is not fair: if you leave the workforce for a period of time, even for a good reason, your career can suffer for decades to come. Women have known that for a long time though the ‘motherhood penalty’ on...
Oscar the Grouch as a great innovator? Well, not exactly, but apparently Sesame Street, the venerable children’s television show now in its 45th year, has taken a pro-active view of innovation for a long time. Give the show’s longevity, perhaps there are lessons for other...
Fifty dollars a bottle and priced just right. Now, I’m not talking about a delightful little bottle of burgundy that goes nicely with braised lamb shanks for autumn dinners. The burgundy, after all, would be 25 ounces worth. I’m talking about a bottle of nail...
‘Come here, we will give you a great deal on real estate!’ ‘No, come here and you’ll get a tax break!’ ‘No, come here instead and we have a grab bag of subsidies so awesome it will be like you are operating for free!’That’s what...
I really don’t think Serena Williams needs any sympathy from me, particularly when it comes to talking about earnings, but it still bothers me a bit that she is frequently referred to as one of the ‘highest earning female athletes ever’, rather than just ‘highest...
Of course I like Whole Foods. How can you not? It is like going to a carnival, almost. The cheeses are beautifully displayed with generous samples offered, the prepared food aisles are filled with yummy products you never knew you wanted, the flowers are always...
Want to deal with the problem of income inequality? The answer is not, as many argue, to simply do a Robin Hood steal-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor thing. According to a new study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , the best way to deal with inequities is to...
I’d like to think I am unique, imaginative, creative, different – and maybe I am all those things. But my deciding to tip-toe into politics is not a sign of that apparently. Oh right, let’s go back a step. I am now a politician, more or...
When you hear about the hard times for today’s graduates do you nod sympathetically while secretly rolling your eyes? If you are older than 20something yourself, you may well believe that things have always been tough for new grads, and that no, things are not...
Does the evolution of neighborhoods in London, England have lessons for other cities? It might, which is why I found this article from The Economist so interesting. At issue is the gentrification – or lack of it – in Kentish Town, a neighborhood in north London....
Apparently, there is now a ‘vacation penalty’ in North American workplaces. Heading to the beach? Sure, go ahead, but your career might go nowhere. That gloomy scenario is according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, and it says a lot to me about...
Free markets or authors? Book sellers or publishing companies? If you support one player, can you not support another? That seems to be the convoluted case as it is being played out by Amazon.com and the publishing company The Hachette Book Group, and it leaves...
First Starbucks, then Maxwell House, now Keurig – anybody who sells coffee is raising prices, and no wonder. Thanks to a drought in Brazil, coffee prices have risen by a staggering 50 percent over the past year. That means companies are passing on the costs,...
Which is better in economic terms: a country with with an aging and declining population or one with a youthful and growing one? Or what about if we are talking about the world as a whole – if a genie asked you to pick one,...
Maybe I am reading too much into the demise of Crumbs, the used-to-be largest cupcake chain in the United States, but I think its crumbling illustrates some key trends. Read more in this blog [caption id="attachment_1289" align="aligncenter" width="275"] Crumbs Crumbled[/caption] I wrote for the National Speakers Bureau...
It is kind of an urban myth, if you’ll pardon the pun: there is a story afoot that people are leaving the suburbs and moving back to the cities. I’ve written about the trend myself, but honestly perhaps the best evidence that it is true...
'Financial Repression' or the generational divide over low interest rates. ...
I am thrilled with this review of Economorphics written by the Globe and Mail's Harvey Schachter He concentrates on the demographic theme of the book, which really is the overriding one. ...
The first chapter of my book Economorphics deals with the closing of the 'demographic window'. Taking things a bit further, in this Commentary piece for the Macdonald Laurier Institute I look at the implication for Canada of a closing window- and how the country can maybe...
Coca Cola's results (NYSE: KO) disappointed...
Well, its jobs week in the U.S. so let's take a look at a stat that sometimes gets overlooked: the harshly-named 'Job Losers Not on Layoff as a Percent of Total Unemployed'...
My adventures in self-publishing continue: forget content, I'm outraged at the cost of postage ...
See My Globe & Mail Blog here...
See my post from the Globe and Mail's Economy Lab here...
See my blog on the Globe and Mail's Economy Lab here...
See my post from today's Globe and Mail Economy Lab here...
Freelancing may be becoming a new norm - and that's okay in an economic sense...
see my post on today's economy lab...
See my post form the Globe and Mail's Economy Lab here...
Not quite the end of the year, but still a good time to take stock of where the jobs were in 2012. See my post on the Globe and Mail's Economy Lab here...
The Bank of Canada makes a rate announcement tomorrow and it is likely to be accompanied by a dovish statement. Se e my blog on Globe and Mail's Economy Lab here...
The world is headed for a slower growth phase thanks to demographics - but good policy can change things ...
Canada has the option of a rate cut if the world slows further. ...
More Canadians are working, but are they making more money? ...
Boomers have moved into the cities - but that might not drive city growth forever. ...
Going to university is pricey, but it still offers the biggest bang for the buck for most people. ...
I am honoured to have been named a Senior Fellow at public policy think tank The MacDonald Laurier Institute. Read more here...
Here is a link to an article I wrote for Advisorsedge.ca (the site for Canadian financial advisors). I call it a cheat sheet to questions that clients will be asking about the economy...
The ECB makes their announcement today and we are counting down to the U.S. jobs report. ...
Here's an interesting item from on a possible softening of China's one-child policy. Faster population in China will not necessarily be the salvation of that economy, and faster economic growth from China will not necessarily be the salvation of the world economy - but it would at least be a start. Aging population – market time bomb?
Okay, that’s a sensationalistic way to put it, but that’s certainly one of the fears people have about an the shifting demographics in North America. Last time around I looked at how portfolio size tends to trend lower as people go past 65. All things being equal, the older the population gets, the more money that is going to be pulled out of the market. Question is, at what point does the ‘market time bomb’ thing go from sensationalism to reality – or does it?
I am fascinated by all the reaction to the Tiger Mom book. You know the one, or maybe you've missed the fuss so far. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Penguin Press, 2011) by Harvard Professor Amy Chua is the story of how one mom, the American-raised daughter of Chinese-born parents, decided to raise her own children using 'Asian' rather than 'Western' parenting strategies. well maybe - but not neccessarily. See my blog for the bnn site at http://www.bnn.ca/Blogs/2011/01/07/Match-made-in-heaven-Oil-prices-and-US-recessions.aspx...
Now that the U.S. economy looks a just a teensy bit better (I know, I know the National Bureau of Economic Research won't say that the recession is over, but still) it's probably okay to start adding up the cost of the crisis. The Pew Research Institute has a new study out that does just that. 
Okay, this one seemed a little out of sync for me: doctors would apparently be employees than free agents. Or at least that's what the New York Times says, in this article that was splashed across the front of the business page. 
Baby boomers are going to retire and take down the pension system. Generation X is lazy. Generation Y is spoiled and undisciplined, and they've pretty much blown out their eardrums by having them stuffed with ipods all the time anyway. The recession has taken what was more or less an nicely operational system, and created an absolute mess, a jobs situation without enough jobs and with years to go before we get to anything you could call 'normal'....
I was going to write something very business-like about the Olympics, something about the returns to invesment for Vancouver or Canada or something like that. On second thought, though, at this point I'd don't know that anyone can really do justice to the topic without...
Loved this article from the Wall Street Journal on the battle for bride dollars. Basically the wedding magazines still standing (some folded during the ad recession of 2009) are battling each other to grab the soon-to-be-married market. And, despite the fact that revenues for U.S....