Croecko Publishing

As we approach the end of the academic year, I would like to announce that over the next 6 months or so I will be wrapping up the Croecko Publishing website (www.croecko.com), the home of the “Economics for Canadians” books, and moving the information from that site to this site. Going forward, this site will be, therefore, the home of Croecko Publishing and of my occasional articles written for the Pembroke Observer and News.

Related to this, I would like to draw your attention to the articles I have had published (and one which wasn’t published) over the past couple of years, covering the conflict in Gaza, the use of technology in schools, the role of widening inequality as a driver of privatization, an analysis of Donald Trump’s geopolitical and economic goals, and a plea to Canadian voters to not let Donald Trump’s words influence their own political decisions in the recent Canadian federal election.

As usual, these articles can all be found at the bottom of the “Articles” page on this website.

I continue to write articles for the Postmedia newspaper group here in Canada.

My article from this past fall is about the similarities between the leadership campaigns of the Conservative Party of Canada’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, and the 1980 Republican Presidential nominee, Ronald Reagan. Can Poilievre deliver on his promise for greater freedom, or will he, like many other politicians on the right, perform a ‘bait and switch’ that will leave workers less well off?

My most recent article looks at the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and makes the argument that the United States and NATO provoked the conflict in order to preserve the U.S. dollar’s status as the world reserve currency.

The articles can be accessed at the bottom of the Articles page.

I wanted to take a moment to formally introduce the updated company logo:

I started working on a new company logo in early 2022, and was delighted with the final result courtesy of my graphic designer, Marisa Scaramella. The logo reflects the fact that Croecko sells economics books, and that at its most essential, an economy must ensure that food (represented by the stalks of wheat) and energy (represented by the sun’s rays) are produced and distributed to people.

I also wanted to make you aware of my most recent articles with the Postmedia newspaper chain, “The end of fantasy finance” and “How high can interest rates go?” They can be seen by scrolling to the bottom of the page above entitled “Articles.”

All the best for a restful August and all the best for the new academic year.

I have written a couple of new articles, one on the crisis in Ukraine entitled ‘Why Ukraine should be barred from NATO” and another entitled “From Occupy to the Convoy.” You can find both at the bottom of the “Articles” page.

While I still have not developed any materials for the new I.B. syllabus (and, I have to admit, the prospect of doing so is increasingly unappealing given the abundance of quality resources now available) I have continued to write articles for the Postmedia chain of newspapers here in Canada. Please feel free to read my most recent articles, “Support our students,” “What Trudeau should know about money and banking,” and “Why I hate Bitcoin” by going to the bottom of the “Articles” page above.

All the best to everyone for the new academic year and to this year’s senior class as they prepare for the first examinations of the new syllabus this coming May.

Well, it had a good run (9 years!) but the syllabus which was first taught in August 2011 and which is due to be examined for the last time this coming November is coming to an end.

Due to a hectic teaching schedule, I have not yet created any materials for the new syllabus which was introduced to students this past August. However, I hope to create some specialized materials to support teachers and students in anticipation of the first exams due to be written in May 2022.

While I have not been able to write any educational materials, I have continued to write regular articles for the Postmedia Group of newspapers here in Canada. Feel free to read my most recent articles from this past December, “Money is not wealth” and “Renewing the social contract” in the Articles section.

While there are only a few dozen copies of the second edition workbook still available from Richard Heath’s IB Bookshop in the UK (and, as of today, a single copy available on Amazon.com), I still have about 500 copies of the first edition workbook available in my warehouse here in Canada.
If, as was the case in most schools, you fear that the move to distance learning made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some important concepts and skills not being learnt adequately, I would recommend that you consider distributing the workbook to students as a learning and revision aid.

While the focus this year will understandably be on getting students in IB1 off to a good start under the new syllabus, don’t forget to ensure also that your IB2 students have everything they need to do well in their exams in May and November.

Orders of the book will come with a printed list of corrections as well as an electronic copy of the quantitative exercises that were the primary improvement featured in the second edition. The solution key to the book’s exercises has always been freely available.

For schools in North America, the value proposition is compelling. I am happy to move the books at printing cost ($5) plus postage ($2-$3 per copy if ordered in a class set, $15 if ordered singly), for a total cost of between $7 and $20 per copy. I am happy to ship copies to schools in Europe and Asia as well, but be aware that the postage costs will be markedly higher.

If you are interested in ordering copies for your students, please send me an email (bryceATbrycemcbride.com).

Finally, if you are interested in reading my most recent articles published this past month entitled “Temporary COVID-19 measures must not become permanent” and “Serious crash or fatal plunge,” please go to the bottom of the Articles page.

All the best for the upcoming academic year, which, being 2020, I am sure still has some surprises in store for us.

As the current syllabus moves into its final year, I would like to invite students looking for an affordable revision book to consider purchasing a copy of the original “Workbook for the New I.B. Economics.” For $5 plus postage (which, within North America, will be $10 to $15 per copy), I am happy to send you a copy.

If you would like to purchase a copy of “Workbook for the New I.B. Economics, 2nd Edition, Exercises,” while I no longer have any books in stock, there are still a couple of copies available on Amazon.com and a few dozen copies at Richard Heath’s I.B. Bookshop in the U.K.

However, those interested in purchasing a 2nd edition teachers’ guide can do so either directly or via Amazon.com.

As we move into the summer holidays, meanwhile, I would invite you to read my most recent triad of articles:

“Understanding the affordability crisis”

“Destroying the Debt Bomb, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Deflation”

“Essential Work and B.S. Jobs”

As the old economics saying goes, “the solution to high prices is high prices.” This current crisis could be just what the global economy needs to liquidate debt and reset our economies to favour production and discourage speculation.

All the best for a great summer holiday.

First of all, I hope you are all keeping well and staying out of the path of the coronavirus. Second of all, if you are in a school which has closed and moved to online learning in response to the coronavirus, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the free online lesson component of  Workbook for the New I.B. Economics, Second Edition, which can be accessed here:

Workbook for the New I.B. Economics Second Edition Lessons March 2014.

I would also invite you to download the worked solutions to Paper 3-style quantitative questions which are available on the Gumroad sharing site here:

https://gumroad.com/bryce

Finally, if the viral shutdown is leaving you with some unaccustomed reading time, please check out my most recent articles. My most recent refers to the economic shutdown engendered by the COVID-19 virus, and makes the case for a deliberate debt deflation to take place to reset our financial and economic system to health.

As you can see from the photo taken yesterday in the Croecko Publishing Warehouse (a.k.a. my father’s old barn), the pallet upon which sat copies of Workbook for the New I.B. Economics, 2nd Edition, Exercises (the one on the right) is now empty. The middle pallet supports two partial boxes of teachers’ guides (one for Workbook for the New I.B. Economics, 2nd Edition, and one for Economics for Canadians) and the remaining copies (under 500) of Economics for Canadians while the pallet on the left supports the remaining copies of the first edition of Workbook for the New I.B. Economics (over 600).

However, while I have run out of student workbooks, there are still copies available through Richard Heath’s I.B. Bookshop in the UK and through Amazon.com.

Alternatively, I encourage schools or individual students looking for a solid learning or revision resource to purchase copies of the first edition workbook. As stated below I am happy to sell copies ‘at cost’ at $5 plus postage. If you are a student in North America, this would put a copy in your hand for around $20, inclusive of delivery. Buyers will also receive a PDF file containing the Paper 3-style questions and worked solutions from the second edition workbook free of charge.

As a final note, I would like to thank you for your support over the past 8 years since the first edition of Workbook for the New I.B. Economics was published in Muscat, Oman. Best wishes for the new year as you welcome the last cohort to study under the current syllabus to your classes, and as we all prepare for the revised syllabus to be released for the cohort entering I.B.1 in August 2020.