There has recently been a renewed interest in the question of whether the ecological crisis means we need to see (or plan for) a stabilization or even a decline in economic growth. This week there is a major conference on degrowth in Montreal. York University's Peter Victor has made important contributions to this debate in his book Managing Without Growth, as has Tim Jackson in his report for the U.K.'s Sustainable Development Commission entitled Prosperity Without Growth?. There is a burgeoning literature on this topic.

Further to my earlier post on this topic, whether or not we are or will soon be experiencing labour and skills shortages is a question of critical importance to the development of sound public policy. Next week, we will get some new Statistics Canada data on job vacancies which will help support a more informed discussion.

Given projections of very weak economic growth and a real unemployment rate which is much higher than before the recession and still stands at over 10 per cent, it is hard to support the case that we face generalized labour shortages anytime soon.

Don Drummond confesses that he has been wrong to believe that changes in public policies -- such as free trade, cuts to corporate taxes, low inflation, the introduction of the GST, balanced budgets and reductions to inter-provincial trade barriers (a.k.a. the neo-liberal agenda) -- are the key to improving Canada's dismal productivity record.

The December issue of the quarterly Economic Climate for Bargaining publication I produce is now online. This issue has a number of pieces on issues of inequality, including:

-  Rising inequality is hurting our economy
-  Labour rights, unions and the 99 per cent
-  Canadian economy bleeding jobs; public sector cuts to intensify
-  Recession and cuts hit Aboriginal and racialized workers hardest

A comprehensive study released today by CUPE shows there's no evidence public sector workers are paid consistently more than those in similar jobs in the private sector.

Instead, overall average pay in the public sector is remarkably similar when compared against similar jobs in the private sector: only 0.5 per cent higher.