Weekly Roundup

Subscribe here to receive insights when they are published.

This week’s memos from Economic Insights:?

Barry White & Childcare Childcare programming holds significant macroeconomic benefits. The Canadian model is expected to boost GDP by an estimate of 1.2 percent, while adding nearly a quarter-million new jobs. Helpfully, this policy interest also serves as a solution to a looming spectre faced by many advanced economies - not having enough babies. Maybe it's because the winters aren’t as cold as they used to be. Or maybe, Barry White’s silky baritone finally gave-ya-up.?

What Caused the Great Recession? New scholarship is challenging the prevailing assumption on the source of the Great Recession. Rather than it being demand-side subprime mortgage financing, or imprudent government subsidies, it is argued that the culprit was the lack of adequate housing supply that triggered the crisis, which was then intensified by a poor reaction of central bankers.

BlackRock's Magic Lamp #BlackRock is widely known as the world’s largest asset manager by assets under management, overseeing north of $10 trillion since the beginning of 2022. Less well known, however, is that BlackRock supports the management of a further $20 trillion through its portfolio management software, Aladdin. Could this magic lamp for portfolio managers be the next systemic risk to the financial system?

***

Last week’s insights:?

Finding Opportunity In Inequality?A rising tide does not lift all boats. Black Americans and Indigenous peoples in Canada share an economic reality in having a poorer financial standing when compared to their white peers. Despite this disparity, structural challenges offer the opportunity for unique solutions.?Read more

Hedging Inflation Artistically?Currently in the United States, the consumer price index stands at 8.5 percent, but the producer price index on finished goods, an output price measurement which historically tends to lead the former, is over 15 percent. Recent pressures have surfaced narratives on the asset types best-positioned as offering a hedge against negative returns, such as contemporary art. Read more

Long Read: Gamification of Finance On March 12, 2009, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart logged its highest day of traffic, following over 2.3 million views of its host’s interview with financial guru Jim Cramer. At issue, was the growing complexity of financial markets, and the fiduciary failure of Wall Street. 13 years later, not only have these two issues gotten more sticky, but they have been amplified by the rise and interplay between social media and technology.?Read more