The Canadian Economy essays

The Canadian Economy essays With a population of over 30 million Canada is one of the worlds largest and strongest economies. Canada enjoys a desirable standard of living, an excellent infrastructure, a highly educated and skilled labor force as well as a well-deserved reputation as a successful trading nation. Canadas economy has not always been this way. In the late 1980s, right around the 4th quarter of 87 the Canadian economy hit a peak. The economy had just recovered from a trough earlier in the year, but what they didnt realize at the time was that they were heading back down into another trough, which they would eventually bottom out in the 2nd quarter of 91. I chose to look into the Canadian Economy from 1987 to 1994. While examining the chart for Canadas real GDP off Yardeni.com I came to the conclusion that Canadas Economy is strong, it has only hit a negative percent changes twice in the past 20 years. The second negative percent change occurred in the early 90s and that is what I am going to figure out by using some GDP Expenditure Component charts, a retail sales chart, the consumer price index chart, and lastly the interest rates chart. Consumer spending was on the fall, government spending was up and down, real capital spending was declining, and imports far outweighed exports. When consumer spending falls, with it goes the GDP, it puts the multiplier effect into play. When consumer spending changes in a little way, it can have a dramatic effect on everything else. The roll of the government did not seem to have an obvious correlation in the down spiraling economy. Government spending rose nearly 6% during the expansion of 1987 and fell back down almost 4% the following year, but as the economy kept falling, government spending did not change, it was sporadically shifting throughout the following 3 years, until it hit bottom and fell nearly 8% from 91 to 94. Alt...