#cdnecon

The Staple Trap "Canada has become a rich country and a middle power, but one with consistent underlying vulnerability and lack of sovereignty.. Canada’s political economy is characterized by a longstanding struggle to develop systems of complementary technology and industries against the pull of resource extraction lock-in, referred to as the “staple trap.”1 The trap is set by resource extraction developments that require large, fixed cost infrastructures and the installation of other “rigidities” such as monopolies and political interests with influence over regional economies and political decision making. The dependent situation of regional economies on globally traded resources leaves them particularly vulnerable to shifts in international commodity prices or the political decisions made by empires in the world. External events create periods of crisis, and these crises appear particularly unexpected and severe.. This reaction further strengthens the conditions for the staple trap – more large, fixed-cost infrastructure that must be paid off, the creation of monopoly interests, and dependencies on global empires to buy raw material exports.. both governments and capitalists sought protection in megaprojects rather than a more evolutionary development pattern that uses innovative technologies to develop diverse economies." https://perspectivesjournal.ca/megaprojects-staple-trap/