Atlantic Institute for Policy Research Highlights
Economic policy commentary and research from the AIPR
CSLS-AIPR Workshop - The New Brunswick Economy: The Way Forward?
Herb Emery
Posted: July 5, 2022 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Regional Economics
On June 9th and 10th, 2022, the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), in collaboration with the Atlantic Institute for Policy Research (AIPR), hosted a workshop in Fredericton, New Brunswick entitled "The New Brunswick Economy: The Way Forward." The event featured keynote speeches from David Campbell (Jupia Consultants) and Tony Venables (Oxford University, University of Manchester) regarding the state and outlook of the New Brunswick Economy, as well as a series of...
New Research on Incomes and Demographics in New Brunswick by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards
Herb Emery
Posted: November 15, 2021 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: Manufacturing , Research Reports , JDI Roundtable , Regional Economics
In 2020, the Atlantic Institute for Policy Research (AIPR) collaborated with the Ottawa based Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) to conduct statistical studies of the state of innovation, and of manufacturing productivity in the province. Three more studies are now completes and are available on the CSLS website and available on our Site: “North Versus South: Income Disparities in New Brunswick, 2000-2019” CSLS Research Report 2021-07, September , Nettie...
Was Refurbishing the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generation Station a Mistake?
Herb Emery
Posted: October 15, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Regional Economics
This is an “extended cut” version of a Commentary published in the Telegraph-Journal October 6, 2021. The point of the commentary is to take a revisionist history look at the politically contentious decision, and apparently costly aftermath, of refurbishing the Point Lepreau Generating Station. The project is of interest today since its cost over-runs and operational performance are invoked as cautionary tales aimed pushing the province toward conservative decisions...
How is the New Brunswick economy recovering from the impacts of COVID-19?
Alexander Ani, Alison Balcom, Thomas Campbell
Posted: October 12, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Research Reports , Regional Economics
AIPR is pleased to release a new report by AIPR researchers Alexander Ani, Alison Balcom and Thomas Campbell,“TRACKING NEW BRUNSWICK’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY FROM COVID-19” , that provides a statistical description of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the New Brunswick economy and its progress toward recovery. The work was made possible with funding from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation. Following a methodology for tracking economic recovery used by Export Development...
BoostNB.com Updates Show Province’s Economy was Stalling… Even Before COVID19
Herb Emery
Posted: October 5, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Regional Economics
This year’s update to the www.boostnb.com economic indicators for New Brunswick is now available for viewing. BoostNB provides straightforward, fact-based information about the New Brunswick economy using publicly available data from Statistics Canada, the Government of New Brunswick and other sources. Modelled on the www.onens.ca that tracked Nova Scotia’s progress to meeting the 2014 Ivany Committee’s (Now or Never) stretch goals for the economy, BoostNB tracks...
New Research in the NB Economy
Herb Emery
Posted: September 28, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Research Reports , Regional Economics , Manufacturing , JDI Roundtable
In 2020, the Atlantic Institute for Policy Research (AIPR) collaborated with the Ottawa based Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) to conduct statistical studies of the state of innovation, and of manufacturing productivity in the province. Those studies are now complete and are available on the CSLS website: “Innovation In New Brunswick” CSLS Research Report 2020-08, September by Kimberley Wong “The Productivity Performance of New Brunswick...
Economic survival means learning from the past
Herb Emery
Posted: May 26, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Regional Economics , Manufacturing , JDI Roundtable
New Brunswick’s economy and population have grown slowly for a decade because growth in our manufacturing exports stalled. Coming out of our COVID19 lockdown we can restart that economic engine but for that to happen, the provincial government and voters need to rediscover an understanding of industrial competitiveness. And the best way to get familiar with that concept is to revisit when the province failed to adjust its policies and regulations in response to external factors like an...
NB's recovery depends on manufacturing
Herb Emery
Posted: May 19, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Regional Economics , Manufacturing , JDI Roundtable
Has COVID19 temporarily reduced our capacity utilization in manufacturing or has it permanently reduced our capacity to manufacture? The answer to that question is what will tell us if we can expect our economy to recover, or absent a dramatic change in how New Brunswickers treat the province’s exporters, if we will experience the de-industrialization that a series have one term governments have attempted to stave off for a decade with their own variations on taxing, borrowing and...
Is this NB's TSN Turning Point?
Herb Emery
Posted: February 7, 2020 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: JDI Roundtable , Manufacturing , Regional Economics , Government
A version of this opinion piece was published in the Telegraph Journal on February 5, 2019 Last Thursday’s State of the Province speech delivered by Premier Blaine Higgs has the potential to be an identifiable turning point for the province. It was more “call to action” than the ideological vision statements we’ve come to expect. The overarching theme of the speech was a stated commitment to growth led by the private sector. The tone was urgent and the listed goals are...
Dr. Emery on Rogers Voice of the Province
AIPR Staff
Posted: December 4, 2019 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: Manufacturing , JDI Roundtable , Immigration , Government , Labour Markets , Taxation , Regional Economics
Dr. Herb Emery, Vaughan Chair in Regional Economics at the University of New Brunswick, was invited to Rogers Voice of the Province in October 2019 to talk about the New Brunswick's economy and how shifting manufacturing into higher gear could be a game changer.
When labour costs outpace productivity
Herb Emery
Posted: August 7, 2019 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Manufacturing , Social Policy , JDI Roundtable , Regional Economics , Labour Markets
New Brunswick’s economy is sick. Since the 2008 Great Recession, New Brunswick has been plagued by a chronic condition called “Baumol’s cost disease”, caused by the double whammy of an aging population and sluggish business investment. We have fewer people in the labour force and our businesses either don’t have the confidence or resources to invest in productivity-enhancing improvements. The result? Labour costs are going up but productivity is not. While...
Getting closer to market doesn't mean moving
Herb Emery
Posted: July 3, 2019 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Regional Economics , JDI Roundtable , Manufacturing , Government , Taxation
How can our export-based businesses grow? A common answer I’ve heard from New Brunswick’s export manufacturers is that they need to “get closer to the market”. Since New Brunswick isn’t a floating island that can be dragged closer to some other place, this seems impossible without setting up production closer to destination markets. In economics, transportation costs are “iceberg costs” – the further the goods travel, the more of the total value...
Announcing the JDI Roundtable
JDI Roundtable
Posted: June 21, 2019 12:00:00 PM ADT
Category: JDI Roundtable , Government , Manufacturing , Regional Economics
Manufacturing is one of New Brunswick’s most important economic sectors but little research has been done on the economic conditions that help or hinder them. The University of New Brunswick has a new program devoted to delivering timely and relevant research and advancing public understanding of the factors that impact manufacturing competitiveness in New Brunswick. The JDI Roundtable on Manufacturing Competitiveness in New Brunswick will be an integral, high-profile and ongoing...