The Panther Prints 6

UPEI Business Students Enjoy

By Julie Clow

The business program at The University of Prince Edward Island has enjoyed a long standing reputation as one of the best programs the Maritimes has to offer. The Dean of Business, Professor Revel, credits success to sev- eral subtle attributes that make UPEI different from the other universities.

There is more individual attention available because of the size of the program and there is a strong emphasis on application of the materials taught.

Our national average in the CAS (the test you take to become a Chartered Account- ant) is significantly above av- erage and several UPEI busi- ness students are receiving offers from numerous firms and now havea choice to make that they did not expect.

As an example of this, J.D. Irving held interviews for positions available to business and engineering graduates from Maritime universities. This was the first time Irving has come to the Island looking for recruits. Fifteen UPEI stu- dents got interviews, which was a percentage higher than some other universities. Four of the Business students got call backs, which was the high- est number of call backs from any single university. Two of the business students from UPEI have received offers for jobs from the Irvings, and the recruiters from the company said that they would definitely come back next year.

Dean Revel says that another reason the business program at UPEI has been so successful is their ability and

Success

willingness to change the pro- gram when change is needed.

For example, this past fall UPEI introduced a new program the Business Intern- ship Program which has been used and proven effective at other universities. It is not mandatory at UPEI, but sug- gested. The idea of the pro- gram is to offer students the opportunity to apply the skills they learn in the classroom to an actual work environment. Students are usually placed on

the Island, but some have gone ~

to other provinces and the United States.

The Dean says that in the future they hope to place more emphasis on recruiting top students from high schools and may attempt a student fol- low up on how UPEI Business graduates are faring in the business world.

January 21, 1997

Canada's Economic Policy Full of Holes

By Stu Clark

(CUP) — Even though most Canadians are still waiting to enjoy the dividends of the country’s economic tum around, the Bank of Canada will soon raise interest rates in an effort to keep the economy from growing too quickly, predicts a prominent labour economist.

Jim Stanford says the higher interest rate — which may only be a few weeks away — will dampen eco- nomic growth at a time when the country faces an unem- ployment rate of nearly 10 per cent.

Stanford made his predic- tion based on _ economic indicators that show the economy growing at a rate of 4 per cent. The Bank of Canada doesn’t like the economy to grow by more than 2.5 per cent a year for fear of inflation — a fear that has lead to the tight monetary policy critics say is responsi- ble for the country’s high unemployment rate and pro- longed recession.

The study — which was sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alterna- tives — challenges current orthodoxy that says cutting deficits and fighting inflation will lead to economic nir- vana. Instead, it argues, these policies have stifled the economy and created a dis- mal unemployment problem.

The 51-page report shows that despite government budget cuts and an almost non-existent inflation rate, Canada was the only G7 country to see its Gross Domestic product drop be- tween 1990 and 1995 — anda drop in GDP means a drop in standard of living.

Stanford contends Canada has lost ground to all of the

other G7 countries because of government economic poli- cies that are based on mistruths such as the belief that lower- ing inflation rates and cutting government deficits will lead to low interest rates and a strong economy.

“While Canada was busy getting (its) fundamentals in order, other economies were busy improving their real standards of living,” he wrote in the report, concluding that during the 1990s Canadian became almost 10 per cent poorer relative to citizens of other industrial nations.

Stanford’s research will be used in putting together the Alternative Federal Budget, an annual event that has economists, union leaders and social action groups put together a complete budget for the federal government to show what alternatives exist to current policy.

This year’s budget will set a target unemployment level of six per cent by 2000 by creating 400,000 new jobs a year for three years, says Bruce Campbell, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Campbell says the key to creating employment is to keep interest rates low — a policy that encourages bor- rowing and increases spend- ing thus creating jobs.

Campbell says the budget will also include some specific job creation pro- grams including a program designed for youths. Statis- tics Canada recently reported the youth unemployment rate in Canada is over 16 per cent.

The alternative budget will be released na- tion-wide in early February.