The economists want in

Canadian Business considers the emergence of economists in this election.

When the prime minister announced in early April that the Conservatives would double the amount Canadians could contribute to tax-free savings accounts, University of British Columbia economist Kevin Milligan crunched the numbers in real-time on Twitter. “Normally it would just be us yelling at the faculty lunchroom walls about these things, but now we can do it on Twitter and get these views out to the world,” says Milligan. “I think it’s an important role for us. It’s about trying to steer the conversation a bit more toward where the evidence is, more immediately.”

For recent evidence, see Stephen Gordon on tax policy and Andrew Leach on environmental policy.