Every once in a while I find myself explaining what is a fundamental concept in economic development but one that is so hard to grasp for a lot of folks – many of whom are in positions of influence. There…
Continue ReadingLearning from Glasgow
Probably the most common question I get is “why would company or industry x want to ever locate in New Brunswick”? People intuitively understand investing here in forestry or mining or some other natural resource but they can’t get their…
Continue ReadingPoverty vs. Inequality
I am not particularly comfortable musing about broader concepts for which I have little expertise but I think they do inform the broader conversation about long term economic development so I will soldier on. I listened this morning to an…
Continue ReadingThe experience economy
Someone asked me to comment on David Brook’s column on the experience economy yesterday. I know some of you are not fans but I find his stuff thought provoking. The column makes the case that Americans for the past…
Continue ReadingConfusing urbanization and NB’s northern challenge
Most people, even smart folks, put down what is happening in Northern New Brunswick to a kind of natural urbanization – a migration to the big cities where the work is. They look at Brazil or Kenya and think that…
Continue ReadingEngaging the private sector
As you know I have been writing and talking more lately about the need for a new partnership with industry when it comes to economic development. I have written about the challenges associated with this in the past but I…
Continue ReadingJobs, jobs, jobs still matters in NB
My column today is on the importance of job creation in New Brunswick. I mention the slow decline of the call centre industry in the province since about 2005 and I speculate that this decline will continue albeit at a…
Continue ReadingI’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll sell for $315 million
You know capitalism must be working when a media outlet set up to complain day and night about the evils of capitalism is able to turn a $1 million investment into a $315 million sale – a profit that would…
Continue ReadingEmployment picture by region across NB
For those of you interested in such things, I have uploaded Service Canada’s monthly labour market report for New Brunswick. It’s an interesting read. Moncton, for example, saw an increase in employment in January (year over year) but a…
Continue ReadingDeeper dive into the NB employment figures: Warning – it’s a bit ugly
As I have said in the past, I am not a huge fan of looking at the month-over-month labour force survey data because there can be significant swings on a monthly basis – even in the seasonally adjusted data. I…
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