In 1821, James Mill, a Scottish historian, economist and philosopher, most famous for being the father of the great liberal philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill, founded the Political Economy Club, a private dining club in London. The club still exists 200 years later.
Among the founder members were two heavy hitters in the history of economics, Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo. Malthus was a pessimist, arguing that population would ultimately outrun increases in production. Ricardo is best known for inventing what we now call the theory of comparative advantage in trade.
The club decided to create an essay prize in honour of its bicentenary, in collaboration with the Financial Times. It offered two titles from which candidates could choose:
1. How relevant are the ideas of Malthus and Ricardo respectively to today’s issues of climate change (is this an example of Malthusian limits) and of limits to markets (is globalisation with free trade and free capital movements an unmixed blessing)?
2. With UK real income per head up 15 times over the past 200 years and more evenly distributed, will this be repeated over the next 200 years — and if not, why?
There were 45 submissions. The judges (of whom I was one) agreed unanimously that the two essays we are publishing were the best argued and most original.
By happy chance, the authors also wrote on different questions. Joe Spearing explores the first question, coming to the conclusion that markets have not only practical, but also ethical, limits as tools for addressing climate change. Krzysztof Pelc addresses the second question, arguing that limits to growth do indeed exist, but these come not from supply, as Malthus (and Malthusians) suggested, but rather from satiation of demand.
It is impossible to guess what Malthus and Ricardo would have made of these arguments. I hope they would have concluded that political economy remains vital, for these thought-provoking essays are in that intellectual tradition.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
