Health spending is surprisingly stable outside of the USA. Even in the UK it was a gentle taper upwards.
Source: OECD Health Statistics.
US, UK, Canadian and Danish health spending as % of GDP
10 Feb 2016 Leave a comment
in economic history, health economics Tags: British economy, Canada, Denmark, health insurance
US, Danish, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand tax and social security burden net of cash benefits as a % of labour costs, one-earner married couple with two children since 2000
05 Feb 2016 Leave a comment
in labour economics, labour supply, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, public economics Tags: 2016 presidential election, British election, Canada, Denmark, family tax credit, in work tax credit, taxation and labour supply
For some reason the Labour government in New Zealand in the mid-2000s could not bring itself to admit it was introducing a huge tax cut for families. To avoid admitting it ever gave a tax cut, that Labour government called the huge family tax credit introduced in 2004 and 2005 Working for Families.
Source: Taxing Wages 2015 – OECD 2015
The above data does not include the effects of GST and VAT.
@BernieSanders MRI rationing – US v. Single-payer UK, Canada and Denmark
05 Feb 2016 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - USA Tags: 2016 presidential election, British economy, Canada, Denmark, health insurance, medical rationing, NHS, single-payer, social insurance, universal health insurance
Single payer health insurance systems may have their advantages but one of which is not ready access to an MRI scan in the UK, Denmark or Canada.
Source: OECD Health Statistics.
Remember that those aged over 65 in the USA are covered by Medicare; the poor and welfare beneficiaries are covered by Medicaid; and children of the working poor are covered by CHIPS.
I am told that dogs to get an MRI scan in Canada far quicker than humans. This is because dog owners can pay for the MRI scan. Private health insurance is unlawful in 9 of the 10 Canadian provinces.
There is considerable medical tourism from Canada to the USA, including by politicians who passionately support the single-payer system.
Agricultural subsidies as a % of gross farm receipts in USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand since 1986
02 Feb 2016 1 Comment
in economic history, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: agricultural subsidies, Australia, Canada, cultural economics, Japan
Source: Agricultural policy – Agricultural support – OECD Data.
Agricultural support is defined as the annual monetary value of gross transfers to agriculture from consumers and taxpayers arising from government policies that support agriculture, regardless of their objectives and economic impacts.
G7, Australian, Danish and New Zealand average personal income tax and social security contribution rates
01 Feb 2016 Leave a comment
in politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, public economics Tags: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Social Security taxes, taxation and labour supply, the dish economy
G7, Danish, Australian and New Zealand marginal income tax and social security contribution rates
31 Jan 2016 Leave a comment
in politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, public economics Tags: Australia, British economy, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, social insurance, Social Security taxes, taxation and labour supply
Ordinary French, Germans, Italians and Danish pay much higher marginal tax rates and that is before their high rates of GST.
Data extracted on 30 Jan 2016 03:08 UTC (GMT) from OECD.Stat.
US, UK and Canadian all-in average personal income tax rates at average wage by family type
22 Jan 2016 Leave a comment
in labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, public economics Tags: British economy, Canada, earned income tax credits, family tax credits, family taxation, taxation and labour supply
The rise of the Canadian working super-rich – composition of top 0.1% incomes since 1946
09 Jan 2016 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economic history, human capital, labour economics, poverty and inequality Tags: Canada, superstars, superstore wages, top 0.1%, top incomes
Source: The World Wealth and Income Database.
The rise of the Canadian working rich – composition of top 1% incomes since 1946
08 Jan 2016 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economic history, human capital, labour economics, poverty and inequality Tags: Canada, superstar wages, superstars, top 1%, working rich
Source: The World Wealth and Income Database.
Top incomes and the decline of unions in Canada, France and Italy
03 Nov 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, Milton Friedman, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking, unions Tags: Canada, entrepreneurial alertness, France, Italy, top 1%, union power, union wage premium
The French ruling class is as lazy as their transnational co-conspirators down under. French union membership is in serious decline albeit from a low base. An opportunity lost for the French ruling class. It has not lifted a finger to extract additional labour surplus from the downtrodden French proletariat now stripped of their only line of collective defence against capitalist exploitation.
Source: OECD Stat and Top Incomes Database.
The top 10% and top 1% in France are no better off than two generations ago despite the decline of French unions. The French Left must be most disappointed. No kicking in the rotten door of the permanent revolution anytime soon after the immiserised French proletariat rises up because it has nothing to lose but its chains. The 21st century version of the Marxist call to the barricades would be a proletariat stirred to revolution with nothing to lose but their suburban home, motorcar, IPad and air points
Source: OECD Stat and Top Incomes Database.
The Italian ruling class has had little success in bringing Italian unions down. The top 10% in Italy is earning no more now than back when the Red Brigades were gunning for them.
Source: OECD Stat and Top Incomes Database.
The top 1% in Italy is doing a little bit better than when the Red Brigade was gunning for them, but not much more. Unions don’t figure in explaining that small rise in Italian top 1% incomes over the last 40 years. Italian unions are pretty much a strong as they were 40 years ago in membership. Italian employment protection laws are pretty much as strong as they used to be too.
Source: OECD Stat and Top Incomes Database.
The Canadian ruling classes even more incompetent than their transnational co-conspirators over in Italy. There appears to have been next to no decline in union membership in Canada. The Canadian top 10% is not earning any more than back in the 60s.
Source: OECD Stat and Top Incomes Database.
The Canadian top 1% is doing a little bit better than 25 years ago also but not off the back of unions which are almost as strong as in the past. The Canadian Left will have to look for a different hypothesis than the ravages of the top 1%.
Source: OECD Stat and Top Incomes Database.
All in all, the Economic Policy Institute simply got lucky with a spurious correlation between top incomes and union membership in the USA.
Tertiary educational attainment by age and gender, USA, UK, Canada and Australia, 2013
25 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - USA Tags: Australia, British economy, Canada, reversing gender gap
There are marked differences in progress in tertiary educational attainment between countries and across the generations. For example, while a few more American women have tertiary degrees as compared to their mothers, there’s been no change for American men for a generation.
Source: Indicators of Gender Equality in Education – OECD.
Canada is firing ahead in both tertiary educational attainment and reversing the gender gap in education for good. Two thirds of prime age Canadian women have a tertiary degree as compared to half of their mothers.
The number of British women with tertiary degrees is also much higher than their mothers. British men are trying their best to keep up.
Tertiary education premium by gender in the English-speaking countries, 2012
19 Oct 2015 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Australia, British economy, Canada, College premium, education premium, gender wage gap, Ireland, New Zealand, reversing gender gap
There are large differences in the education premium between English speaking countries and also by gender. The tertiary premium in New Zealand is pretty poor compared to the USA, UK or Ireland and is still mediocre when compared to Australia and Canada.
Source: Education at a Glance 2014.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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