Economics for Everyone

NOVEMBER 1, 2008 -- There's nothing like a good old-fashioned financial panic to inspire a lot of popular interest in economics.  If it weren't for the huge amount of fear and suffering this crisis is imposing on average people, I'd say this was a great time to be an economist!  I'm getting an incredible number of inquiries, from reporters, union members, and readers, all wondering what it means.

NOVEMBER 1, 2008 -- I've been receiving a decent flow of commentary on the book through the feedback feature of this website.  Here is a selection of a few of the comments received.  Thanks to everyone who has submitted comments, praise, criticism, and suggestions for future editions.

OCTOBER 20, 2008 -- I am blushing, really blushing.  Three more extremely kind reviews of Economics for Everyone have appeared in various publications from Canada's left.  Here are some choice bits, with links to the full reviews.  I am very humbled by the support this project is getting from the incredibly hard-working people who make social change happen on the ground.  Thank you very, very much!

OCTOBER 7, 2008 -- I've had a great time visiting a few cities and giving talks based on Economics for Everyone in several cities over the past few weeks.

My trip through Manitoba and Saskatchewan featured two evening talks in Winnipeg and Regina, organized in each case by the local branch of the CCPA (attracting about 75 people at each), and a smaller presentation hosted by the fine progressive economists at the University of Manitoba.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 -- I am gradually making some progress at getting the supplementary curriculum material and other resources for Economics for Everyone posted up here.

Check the Resources page for the latest -- including a set of "How-To" guides for those who are inspired enough to try their own crunching of the economic numbers (there are guides for GDP, inflation, labour market, and corporate financial data).

SEPTEMBER 2: Labour Day was the hook for the Vancouver Province to run a nice story on Economics for Everyone, complete with full-length photo of the author (Aussie friends take note: you can see I am wearing my RMWilliams shit-kickers!).

Here's a somewhat fuzzy pdf of the original story.

Jim Stanford will be giving public talks based on Economics for Everyone in several Canadian cities this fall.  Here are the first confirmed dates:

Winnipeg: Wednesday, Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m., Millenium Library (Buchwald Room, 2nd Floor), 251 Donald Street.  Sponsored by Fernwood Publishing and CCPA-MB.  Info: 204-474-2958.

Regina: Thursday, Sept. 11, 7:00 p.m., SGEU Hall, 1440 Broadway Ave.  Sponsored by CCPA-Saskatchewan.  Info: 306-586-5177.

JULY 24 2008: My good pal Marc Lee, crusading economist for the CCPA and the third chairperson of the Progressive Economics Forum, posted these very kind words about Economics for Everyone on the PEF's awesome blog-site:

JULY 20 2008: I hadn't yet waded into the Saturday book section of the Globe and Mail when I bumped into my friend Paul Weinberg (the progressive technology journalist) in the park yesterday.

He told me about the Globe's review of my book ... and then expressed his condolences -- which initially got me worried! No need to fret, however.  Andrew Allentuck, the reviewer, is a regular business columnist for the paper, so he was a tough audience, but I'd say his comments helped more than they hurt (among my target audience, anyway).

JULY 8 2008: This month's edition of the CCPA Monitor contains a detailed (and very generous) review of Economics for Everyone from Mel Watkins.