Oliver Parker

As someone working in policy evaluation I think it can really hard and requires a very different way of thinking than what I learned in grad school economics. Governments are often using different measures of success than non-gov researchers (both in bad and good ways).

Something that always enters my mind with UBI debates is the Canada Child Benefit which reduced child poverty significantly while replacing three different benefits (reduced admin costs) and had near universal take up (95%). It doesn't eliminate poverty but it does reduce the equilibrium a lot!

Housing completions may be down in Ontario but the financing reforms for rentals gives me hope we may see some good changes. This is what good and technocratic reform can achieve without spending a dollar.

There needs to be a complete overhaul of Metrolinx leadership. We're set back another decade because of a failure to accept new ideas and change.

Yesterday, @trevortombe.bsky.social and I changed some thoughts on whether and how to retaliate.

Last night I saw this from Olivier Blanchard.

Both Trevor and I could claim alignment with Blanchard, depending on which highlighted section you think is right.

Can't believe the future of the Canadian economy is in limbo because a sign is obscured.

We are in an ideal political climate that divorcing Canadian build codes from simply being copy/pasted from the US to instead stealing the better ideas of the rest of the world can be a winning policy.

Elevator sizes, single-stairs, and vehicle safety reqs are good areas to start.

There's already one or two in Toronto. Ottawa has it as well. Might just be a handful of the big cities first

Incredible housing both design and layout-wise is here in Canada. I'm hoping Ontario cities catch onto Edmonton's ideas quickly.

Especially allowing mid-rise on non-arterial roads!

Wall Street coming around to Trump’s tariff and deregulation spree be like

Looks like an excellent opportunity!

Do submissions require a full draft of a paper or just results in a presentation?

I hope the Feds expand the catalogue with design competitions to attract more variety in looks. Love the designs so far but as always more options of style is better.

We went through this with zoning, and now we're going through it with building code: trillion dollar industries depend on these things, yet a bunch of precocious bloggers can swoop in and expose these institutions as full of pseudoscience. Does nobody do their job? @aarmlovi.bsky.social

If there is no political appetite to repeal sports betting in Ontario then at the very least can we make betting ads illegal as we did with tobacco?

Menu with sticker stipulating a 50¢ surcharge for eggs due to shortage

Egg politics really isn't just a meme in America.

It is 1897, Canada is seeking closer trade ties with the UK, Australia, and New Zealand to counter American economic encirclement.

It is 1929, Canada tries again.

It is 1932, and again.

It is 2025...

Linked individual data using WWII Army and administrative tax records show mixed impacts of service on long-run economic outcomes for different racial and ethnic groups, from Sergio E. Barrera, Andreas Ferrara, Price V. Fishback, and Misty L. Heggeness https://www.nber.org/papers/w33382

City leaders in this province need to start taking agency and doo things without the province handling it for them. Another reason why we're in a housing crisis!

Along these lines I find that grocery store options from base ingredients to frozen dinners have expanded greatly even in the suburb stores around me. The fact that I can buy a frozen curry dinner that is store-branded when 10 years ago my city required you to head to one of three Indian restaurants

Thank you for the incredible public good of your videos! Canadian transit discussions will sorely miss them.