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Poverty reduction strategies (PRSs) have proliferated across Canada in recent years at different levels of government. In this article, we address the question of what may reasonably be expected of such strategies, in particular the city of Toronto's PRS, drawing on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper experience in the Global South. We argue that key limitations related to the tight fiscal environment in which these strategies have been implemented, their very heavy weighting on the social sectors, and the fact that they are often simple compilations of existing public programs and policies with minimal prioritisation make it highly unlikely that large-scale reductions in poverty will result. Their most important contribution is political, and their impacts on poverty are likely to be positive but modest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Income inequality is on the rise, and everyone, from President Obama and Pope Francis to Prince Charles and Standard & Poor’s, is talking about it. But these conversations about what are arguably the most significant changes in the distribution of incomes and earnings since the 1940s are leading to very different views on how public policy should respond. This is as true in Canada as it is in almost all of the other rich countries where inequality has risen. In this paper, I tell two stories about inequality—one from the perspective of those who feel it is not a problem worth the worry, and the other from the perspective of those who see it as the defining challenge of our time—to clarify the issues facing Canadians and what public policy should do about them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes four basic points about movement toward a low carbon economy in Canada: first, that it is important for political leaders, policy analysts, and researchers to approach the issue in terms of a transition to a carbon-emission–free society; second, that in Canada the development of regional pathways to a low-carbon economy is crucial; third, that we need ‘‘green development strategies’’ if we are to maximize the opportunities presented by this transition; and finally, that we should think about low-carbon politics as well as low-carbon economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper begins with some basic innovation definitions and quickly reviews evidence of the relatively weak innovation performance of Canadian business. The core of the paper develops a thesis that explains why Canadian industry, on the whole, has not emphasized innovation in its business strategies but has prospered nonetheless. This raises the question of whether Canada’s low-innovation equilibrium can persist in the face of tectonic forces related to globalization, technology, and sustainability that require innovative responses from enterprises worldwide and, not least, from Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the need for a Canadian clean innovation policy agenda to focus on organizational and institutional innovations within the public sector. The paper provides an introduction to innovation policy and how innovation can be directed to promote environmental sustainability. It then discusses the pitfalls that can lead to government failure in attempts to promote technological change. It then lists key institutional design principles to produce effective public-sector organizations capable of fruitfully engaging with the private sector to promote sustainability while avoiding the pitfalls discussed earlier. The article concludes by calling for further case-study research on how good institutional designs are achieved and what institutional designs best fit the Canadian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explains the findings of the MC3 Project (Meeting the Climate Change Challenge). This project brought together over 100 researchers, practitioners, civil-society leaders, and policy-makers, led by researchers from Royal Roads University, Simon Fraser University, and the University of British Columbia, with 12 major research partners from the public and private sectors, including the Union of British Columbia municipalities. Researchers conducted a detailed evaluation of 11 leading, yet different, municipalities across the province to identify the leading innovators and innovations on climate action. The case studies revealed the following key drivers of innovation, in order of prominence: the legislative and policy framework, supported by provincially led incentives and tools, access to partnership funding and intermediary support, and framing the issue as critically important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial stability risks have become topical in the wake of the global financial crisis and the subsequent extended period of very low interest rates. This paper investigates the significance of the mix of monetary and fiscal policies for financial stability through counterfactual simulations of three key historical episodes, using the Bank's main policy model, ToTEM (Terms-of-Trade Economic Model). The paper finds that there is an intimate relationship between the monetary/fiscal policy mix and the dynamics of both private sector and public sector debt accumulation. No attempt is made to develop criteria for policy mix optimization, since it is clear from the model simulations that the appropriate policy mix is highly state-dependent. This finding points to the need for a coherent framework for weighing the relative financial and macroeconomic consequences of accumulating public sector versus private sector debt. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that there are potential benefits to ex ante monetary/fiscal policy coordination, and that Canada's policy framework--where the monetary and fiscal authorities jointly agree on an inflation target while enshrining central bank operational independence--represents an elegant coordinating mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial stability risks have become topical in the wake of the global financial crisis and the subsequent extended period of very low interest rates. This paper investigates the significance of the mix of monetary and fiscal policies for financial stability through counterfactual simulations of three key historical episodes, using the Bank's main policy model, ToTEM (Terms-of-Trade Economic Model). The paper finds that there is an intimate relationship between the monetary/fiscal policy mix and the dynamics of both private sector and public sector debt accumulation. No attempt is made to develop criteria for policy mix optimization, since it is clear from the model simulations that the appropriate policy mix is highly state-dependent. This finding points to the need for a coherent framework for weighing the relative financial and macroeconomic consequences of accumulating public sector versus private sector debt. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that there are potential benefits to ex ante monetary/fiscal policy coordination, and that Canada's policy framework--where the monetary and fiscal authorities jointly agree on an inflation target while enshrining central bank operational independence--represents an elegant coordinating mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using four cycles of longitudinal National Population Health Survey (NPHS) data from 1994 to 2001, we examine whether increasing economic insecurity causes weight gain and obesity. In July 1996, Bill C-12 reduced Canadian unemployment insurance benefits considerably, arguably increasing the economic insecurity of Canadians exposed to unemployment risk. Using a difference-in-difference methodology, this paper compares the change in weight gain of adults 25 to 64 before and after this policy shift. For poorly educated males, the onset of unemployment in the post-policy change era is predicted to increase their body mass index (BMI) by 3.2 points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether environmental assessments (EAs) influence the ability of Aboriginal peoples to advance community employment aims in resource development projects. Environmental assessment and labour policy and practices have been conventionally understood as distinct processes. Our investigations demonstrate that EAs play a significant, if indirect, role in Aboriginal efforts to regulate resource sector work. While Aboriginal communities increasingly rely upon private negotiations with development proponents to secure resource sector employment, participation in EA processes provides Aboriginal peoples a space to negotiate language around employment commitments and leverage to secure Aboriginal employment provisions in impact benefit agreements with project proponents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that there exists a strong seasonal pattern in births and that the pattern differs across geographic regions. While historically this seasonal pattern has been linked to exogenous factors, modern birth seasonality patterns can also be explained by purposive choice. If birth month of a child is at least partially chosen by the parents then, by extension, it can also be expected that this can be influenced by anything that changes the costs and benefits associated with that choice, including public policy. This paper explores the effect that the 2001 extension of paid parental leave benefits had on birth seasonality in Canada. Overall we find strong results that the pattern of birth seasonality in Canada changed after 2001, with a notable fall in spring births and an increase in late summer and early fall births. We discuss the potential effects of this unintended consequence, including those related to health and development, educational preparedness and outcomes, and econometric modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While much research points to the importance of a range of welfare state policies to reduce inequalities in health, the growing literature in this field is full of mixed and contradictory results. In this paper, we provide a brief discussion about the different conceptual and methodological approaches used in comparative research on the relationship between welfare policies and health. Against a theoretical discussion of possible linkages among one central welfare policy, unemployment benefit schemes, and health, we also provide examples of findings on how two central dimensions of such schemes--coverage and replacement rates--are linked to health and health inequalities across Europe. These examples indicate not only that welfare state programs can contribute to smaller health inequalities but also that their effectiveness in this respect depends on their institutional set-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2006, Ontario made history by passing legislation to address licensing barriers experienced by internationally educated professionals. While registration requirements have been slow to change, regulators demonstrate increasing openness to alternative ways that individuals can develop or demonstrate professional competencies. This paper reviews acceptable alternatives for meeting academic requirements in 38 Ontario professions and compares local experience requirements and alternatives for three professions in Canada and Australia. Acceptable alternatives improve flexibility and remove artificial barriers by focusing on competency. However, ongoing investment is needed from regulators and government to ensure that alternative routes to licensing are accessible, affordable, and sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares employment match rates for immigrants educated in a regulated profession with those of their Canadian-born and -educated counterparts. In particular, it examines Statistics Canada data for 2006 and 2011, analyzing trends and provincial comparisons over the five years following the implementation of Ontario's fair access legislation. Overall, the findings support a continued role for fair access legislation to hold regulators accountable, stronger engagement with employers to promote immigrant hiring and retention, specialized advisement and training for alternative careers, and thoughtfully designed pre-arrival initiatives that reduce time away from professional practice without increasing barriers to immigration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effects of occupational licensing in Canada on the earnings of immigrants and nonimmigrants. The econometric model is estimated for immigrants and non-immigrants as well as between joiners and leavers from occupationally licensed jobs using a large panel data set. The results suggest that occupational licensing raises wages more for immigrant workers than for non-immigrants with similar observed characteristics. However, the probability of being in an occupationally licensed job is lower for immigrants as compared to non-immigrants. The implications of these findings for whether immigrants gain or lose from occupational licensing are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under a flexible exchange rate regime, the Canadian economy is constantly affected by fluctuations in exchange rates. This paper focuses on the effect of the exchange rate on employment in Canada. We find that appreciation of the Canadian dollar has significant effects on employment in manufacturing industries; such effects are mostly associated with the export-weighted exchange rate, but not the import-weighted exchange rate. Meanwhile, the exchange rate has little effect on jobs in non-manufacturing industries. Because the manufacturing sector accounts for only about 10 percent of employment in Canada, the overall effect of the exchange rate on employment is small. In addition, we quantify the loss of manufacturing employment associated with a commodity market boom, during which the Canadian dollar tends to appreciate. Our estimates suggest that when commodity prices increase by 15.77 percent (one standard deviation of annual change in commodity prices between 1994 and 2010), manufacturing employment in Canada decreases by 0.8 percent, which is about 0.08 percent of the total employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different categories of services present different policy issues for financing health care. This conceptual paper suggests four categories: (1) public health services for the entire population; (2) basic health care to individuals, where anticipated costs are small and relatively homogeneous; (3) potentially catastrophically expensive services to individuals, where costs are skewed but not predictable; and (4) potentially catastrophically expensive services to individuals, where anticipated costs are both skewed and predictable. Using Canadian and Manitoba data to illustrate some implications of the distribution of health expenditures, we suggest policies suitable for one category of services may not necessarily work for others. The small proportion responsible for incurring high health expenditures are not attractive candidates for voluntary risk pools, particularly in competitive markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses longitudinal microdata from the Statistics Canada National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) to study the family income dynamics of Canadian children from the time they are 4 or 5 until they are 14 or 15. Dynamics of family income have been studied less often than dynamics of child poverty. Yet we argue that from the perspective of equity, it is important to know the extent to which some children are always affluent while other children are always poor. Also, since our social safety net is designed to shelter Canadians, including children, from both economic hardship and economic loss, it is also important, from the perspective of policy, to assess risk factors for persistent low income as well as correlates of major economic loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the public indebtedness of the Canadian provinces and the US states (including a share of the federal debt) over the 2000–2007 period. It presents rankings of the most indebted subnational jurisdictions based on five public debt concepts. Among the provinces, Quebec (with the lowest average rank) and Alberta (with the highest average rank) display the most stable position across the rankings. All other provinces show important fluctuations in their position in the rankings. Hence, allocating the federal debt to subnational states and the specific debt concept being considered significantly influence the rankings, quite spectacularly in some instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defines two key core concepts in the field of public policy: co-production and co-construction. It first examines the role of the third sector in the co-construction of two public policy initiatives, the Voluntary Sector Initiative and the Social Economy Initiative, developed under the responsibility of the federal state. Then it turns to the participation of the third sector in co-constructing public policy under the responsibility of the Quebec provincial state in six policy areas: policy to recognize autonomous community organizations, policy to recognize the social economy, daycare policy, home care policy, social housing policy and Quebec legislation to combat poverty. The policy initiatives of both the federal state and Quebec state are compared and analysed from a co-construction perspective [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on research exploring the contribution to social policy of social economy organizations (SEOs) in Atlantic Canada. Of particular interest is whether SEOs and government are engaged in what we have termed 'reciprocal relationships,' through inclusive, cross-sector alliances linked to improved policy planning and decision-making. Initial findings suggest that reciprocity of relationships between government and SEOs to enhance policy solutions and service provision is not yet fully realized and that SEOs remain structurally marginalized in the design and implementation of policy. The paper points to investment in appropriate support mechanisms to make government-SEO alliances meaningful and more durable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the political economy of procurement and purchasing policies, specifically at the sub-national level. It frames these policies historically and philosophically as struggling to articulate an alternative to capitalism while working within capitalist contexts. It then examines the proposed trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), as an exemplar of this struggle, concluding with three policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of Canadians continue to drive after drinking, in part because they can do so with little fear of being apprehended, charged, and convicted. The federal amendments to impaired driving law of the past 15 years have focused on penalties, narrow prosecutorial issues, and long-standing loopholes. However, significant progress requires a shift from these so-called 'tough' laws to effective laws (i.e., those that will sharply reduce impaired driving). In response to similar problems with the persistence of impaired driving, many developed countries have enacted both a criminal .05 percent blood-alcohol concentration limit for driving and random breath testing, thereby achieving dramatic reductions in related crash deaths. This paper examines these two measures in the context of Canada's impaired driving record and the current federal law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines public policy relating to the licensing of older Canadian drivers. We focus on licence renewal frequency, assessment of driving competence, and the role of medical professionals, insurers, and police in assessing fitness-to-drive. Our evaluation of the current regimes finds shortcomings with respect to cost-effectiveness, equity, transparency, and feasibility. We propose a new elderly licensing regime which includes a two-stage assessment process with an age-based trigger, a mandatory education session, and adoption of graduated delicensing. These reforms will overcome some of the identified weaknesses of the current regime and improve road safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines health-care spending projections when the interaction between end-of-life care expenditures and declining mortality is taken explicitly into account. Based on Quebec's historical public health-care spending data and mortality rates for 20 age groups over the period 1998 to 2009, an econometric model is developed with the aim of differentiating 'ordinary' health-care spending from end-of-life care expenditures. Numerical simulations reveal that the average annual growth rate of future health-care spending projected over the period 2009-2056 diminishes by about 0.19 to 0.23 percentage points. This implies a cumulative health-care savings of about 8.4 to 10.3 percent in 2056, independent of other health-related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-depth interviews with government officials are a critical research method for the study of government. Historical and institutional factors, and particularly the informal internal dynamics that influence policy, require a depth of understanding that is often best investigated through such interview methods. At the federal level in Canada we see many trends that point to the increasing centralization and control of government information. There has been political interference in Access to Information Requests; the outcomes of scientific research have been suppressed; and media access to politicians has become highly constrained. This led us to ask whether tightening controls on information have also affected access to research interviews with government officials. This paper explores this issue by interviewing both academics and public servants in the Canadian federal government. We ask is there evidence of a tightening grip on access to governmental research interviews and, if so, is this affecting how and what we research? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the implication of the decision to give 2006 Census respondents the option of letting Statistics Canada access their income tax files rather than answering income-related questions directly. We find that giving respondents the option to share their income tax files (or not) adds a confounding factor when it comes to measuring family-income inequality, particularly for the bottom tail of the distribution. The consent decision does not, however, materially affect the estimation of standard wage equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transferring income to families with children has long been a basic Canadian social policy. Though motivated by a range of goals, a central expectation has been that higher family income will lead to better child outcomes, especially in low-income families. This paper presents a synthesis of Canadian research estimating the effect of household income on measures of child development and well-being. While child outcomes and socioeconomic status (SES) are highly correlated, the effect of income on child outcomes, controlling for other SES factors, is found to be statistically significant but of much smaller magnitude than correlation alone indicates. The paper also discusses key theoretical and methodological issues in this area of research, identifies areas for future research, and draws implications for public policy design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of a recent recommendation made by Quebec's Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l'exclusion sociale to guarantee every individual an income equal to 80 percent of Statistics Canada's Market Basket Measure (MBM). Workers with earnings at least equivalent to 16 hours at the minimum wage would be entitled to 100 percent of the MBM. We also investigate the impact of three alternative proposals: (a) a change in the above hours cut-off from 16 to 30 hours; (b) a guaranteed income equal to 100 percent of the MBM, irrespective of earnings; and (c) a $3/hour conditional wage subsidy. To do this, we first estimate a structural labour supply model using the existing tax code and predict the labour supply of a representative sample of individuals based upon the parameter estimates of the model. Simulations show that the original recommendation would have strong negative impacts on participation rates of low earners and that its cost would exceed $2 billion. Increasing the hours cut-off is predicted to have little impact beyond that of the original recommendation. Providing a guaranteed income equivalent to 100 percent of the MBM, on the other hand, would have a large impact. We find that contrary to what is usually assumed, guaranteed income schemes may increase the incidence of low income rather than decrease it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, many Western countries have implemented restrictions on immigrants' access to welfare programs, thereby creating new lines of exclusion between immigrants and the native-born. Canada is commonly seen to have resisted this trend. This view overlooks, however, that exclusion can come in different forms. In addition to direct formal exclusion from welfare programs, immigrants can also have more limited access because of indirect or informal mechanisms of differentiation. Reviewing five core welfare programs, this paper shows that direct, indirect, and informal types of exclusion exist in the Canadian welfare state, albeit with different consequences for different categories of newcomers. While this conclusion is not meant to suggest that immigrants face as much exclusion as they do in some other Western countries, it does demonstrate the need to avoid the complacency regarding immigrants' social rights in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the changing nature of regulation making with a special emphasis on the role that economists should play. It focuses specifically on the processes used to develop regulations. It argues that the traditional process for regulation making is breaking down and that the quality of regulation will decline if processes do not adapt to the changing environment. In addition to their traditional work of comparing regulatory instruments and calculating their benefits and costs, economists can play an important role by serving as strategists to help the public interest win in the strategic game of regulation making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The announcement of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in June 2012 raised speculation about dire consequences for the dairy sector and the end of supply management. We examine these claims in the context of tariff liberalization and the transmission of volatile international dairy prices into the Canadian market. The paper examines the implications for dairy farmer welfare, quota values, and the welfare of other agents in the economy. Given that the US dairy industry has interests of its own to protect, significant dairy tariff liberalization is not expected. With modest tariff reductions, the impact on quota values will be minimal. Likewise, the overall decline in producer welfare will also be small. Therefore, supply management, as a marketing institution, is likely to survive the TPP, but marketing boards may have to change their pricing policies in response to tariff reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex environment and resource policy issues such as wind energy planning can benefit greatly from public input but may also be challenging for the public to understand. This paper examines informational barriers to public engagement with policy, using a case study of wind energy planning in Saskatchewan, Canada. A document review showed four types of barriers to effective policy-public communication in the case study: non-intuitive information, misreported information, obsolete information, and absent information. We provide some intuitive solutions for these difficulties but also suggest that they may be strongly rooted in the inherent political incentives of policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments are increasingly concerned that current levels of water use are unsustainable, particularly in the face of threats posed by climate change. This paper examines recent research on water-using innovation in three key water-using sectors (residential, manufacturing, and agriculture) for evidence to support the call for greater reliance on economic instruments as part of the suite of policy measures to promote water innovation, conservation, and efficiency. The findings illustrate the need to understand water’s role in production (industrial, agricultural, and household) and the way changes in unit costs of other inputs (particularly energy and capital) influence innovation. In addition, the available research indicates that policies based on economic instruments should be tailored to the specific features and contexts of the different water-using sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses energy links between Canada, the United States, and Mexico and the state of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction policies. A review of GHG reduction policies reveals fragmented approaches with political stalemates at the national level. Closely integrated North American energy markets are potentially changing in different directions. While Canada is contemplating more diversification of energy trade, the United States is increasingly relying on domestic supply of energy and will soon be a net exporter of energy. The paper argues that carbon pricing needs to be harmonized in conjunction with trade flows and elaborates on how current, fragmented carbon pricing initiatives could be turned into a more harmonized carbon pricing system. It provides arguments in support of a binding absolute emissions cap with limited safety valves and price floors in a North American emissions-trading program. It also discusses lessons learned from the EU GHG emissions-trading system and their implications for the design of North American cap-and-trade regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a model of the determinants of environmental management practices and the impact of these practices on environmental performance is described and tested using Canadian manufacturing facility-level data. Our results show that Canadian manufacturing facilities have indeed undertaken environmental initiatives as a result of pressures arising from the buyers of their products and corporate headquarters. The relationship between environmental management practices and environmental performance is curvilinear. Increases in environmental performance are observed as the number of environmental practices increases up to an inflection point. Past this inflection point, environmental performance diminishes with further increases in environmental practices. We also find that, across time, facilities with more comprehensive practices continue to see improvements in environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education policy should be informed by research that distinguishes school-based learning from learning that occurs during non-school time. American studies find that socio-economic disparities in learning tend to widen over the summer months, the longest continuous stretch of non-school time. This paper analyzes the first large-scale Canadian study of summer learning. We collected data on literacy growth for a non-random sample of 1,376 Ontario children in Grades 1-3 during the summers of 2010 and 2011. Summer learning was widely dispersed with a mean of zero, and equal proportions of children had substantial learning gains and losses. There were strong disparities by family socio-economic status (SES), as affluent children gained literacy while those from poorer families lost literacy. We attributed 25 percent of the gap between the top and bottom SES quartiles at the start of the school year to the previous summer. We discuss implications for Canadian education policy and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the employment and recruitment of immigrant care workers in the older adult care sector in Canada, based on data from interviews with 77 workers and 24 employers in care settings, as well as from 149 online employer surveys conducted in 2007-08. We find that workers enter this sector largely through social networks. Although recruitment agencies do not play a critical role in the employment and recruitment of immigrant workers, regulation could prevent instances of abuse we found. Our findings also suggest that immigration admission policies could be better aligned with Canada's needs for older adult care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the fiscal rules used by Canadian provincial governments during 1981–2007, by employing various empirical approaches including panel regressions, instrumental variables, and difference-in-difference estimators. The results suggest that the type of fiscal rule matters, as budget balance and debt rules were effective whereas revenue and spending rules were ineffective on average over this period. Specifically, the preferred point estimates imply that budget balance rules were associated with improved budgetary balances of 0.8 percentage points of GDP, while debt rules were associated with net debt-to-GDP ratios that were 1.5 percentage points better on average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers whether Canadian immigrants are particularly vulnerable to mandatory retirement (MR) rules. Because of their relatively late entry into the Canadian labour market, many immigrants have less time to accumulate sufficient savings for retirement if forced to retire at a specific age. We utilize the General Social Survey (Cycle 21 2007) to examine the extent to which MR has been a binding constraint on the retirement decision of Canadians. We find a significant “MR effect,” especially for late-arriving immigrants, who are more likely to suffer financial hardship when they are forced to reitre. Accordingly, recent legislation restricting the practice of MR can be expected to result in important welfare gains for many older workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes publication activity and its Canadian content for a random sample of current academic faculty in Canadian economics departments using both descriptive evidence and time-dependent panel regression models. We find some support for Anthony Scott’s (1993) hypothesis that publications with Canadian content are delayed until later career stages, but we also find strong evidence of declining interest in Canadian content for newer faculty hired since 1990 and for faculty in Canada’s top-rated departments. Canadian academics have tended to publish in the Canadian Journal of Economics (CJE/RCE) early in their career and Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques (CPP/Adp) in mid-career, but both these outlets feature fewer publications from faculty hired since 1990. Publication in the CJE/RCE persists for top departments into mid-career but is less common among those hired with a PhD from outside Canada, while publication in CPP/Adp is more likely among faculty in departments outside the top ten. The contracting supply of content for Canadian economics journals, particularly CPP/Adp, appears to be aggravated by the recent hiring and retention decisions of departments seeking to improve their ranking based on top journal publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey to compare the utilization of general practitioners by elderly immigrants to that of Canadian-born elderly people. The study employs count data regression methods to take into account that the number of visits to general practitioners is a non-negative integer variable. The study estimates models using the overall sample as well as subsamples of males and females separately. The results suggest that there is no significant difference between elderly immigrants and Canadian-born seniors in their utilization of general practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two decades have passed since the first wave of balanced budget legislation (BBL) in Canada. This passage of time and the recent economic downturn afford researchers the opportunity to evaluate the success of these regulations in encouraging fiscal responsibility. This paper provides both a quantitative analysis of the impact of BBL on expenditure growth and a qualitative assessment of BBL in Western Canada as these four western provinces confronted the Great Recession of 2008–09. On both accounts, our analysis suggests that BBL did not fare particularly well in terms of its original objectives. Our empirical analysis shows that BBL had no discernible effect in restraining expenditure growth relative to revenue growth in most provinces, leaving them in a vulnerable fiscal position to avert deficits during economic recession. We illustrate this vulnerability among Western Canadian governments when confronted with the Great Recession. In other words, BBL was neither strong enough to limit expenditure growth during the good times nor adequate to prevent governments from choosing to run deficits during the bad times. Our analysis suggests that, like any piece of legislation, BBL is only as effective as the political will and public support surrounding it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs a unique large-scale longitudinal (1997–2005) dataset to investigate the pattern of foreign market entry by 6,079 Canadian exporters. We have found that fewer firms are choosing the United States as their initial export destination. This trend suggests that a growing number of firms are not following the traditional stage model of internationalization. Furthermore, our results suggest that government support should be targeted towards young and small Canadian-controlled firms, since they are more likely than established firms to encounter barriers and to gain benefits from exporting to a wider range of foreign markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of community characteristics on volunteering using data from two cycles of the Canadian Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (2004 and 2007). Controlling for many individual factors, we find evidence that in 2004, volunteering was decreasing in population, income in equality, and shares of foreign-born residents. For 2007, there is no evidence that any of the community characteristics had significant effects, suggesting that Canada’s large communities were coping increasingly well with rising income inequality and birthplace diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a decomposition of the changes in the Canada-US unemployment rate gap using measures of the flow rates into unemployment (the inflow hazard) and out of unemployment (the outflow hazard). The estimates indicate that most of the changes in the unemployment rate gap between 1981 and 2009 are due to changes in the outflow hazard (i.e., the duration of unemployment spells). The relative importance of the inflow and outflow hazard effects on the unemployment rate gap changes over time, but the outflow hazard tends to account for most of the changes in the unemployment rate gap since 1997. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable concern has recently been expressed worldwide about growing income inequality. Much of the discussion, though, has been in general terms and focused on the US experience. To understand whether and how Canada ought to respond to this development, we need to be clear on the facts. This paper documents Canadian patterns in income inequality and investigates the top 1 percent of earners-the group receiving the most attention. We summarize what is known about the causes of growing income inequality, including the role of gender wage differences. Finally, we outline policy options for reducing-or slowing the growth of-inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporary foreign worker programs are typically seen as short-term solutions to shortages of regional or occupational labour. During the past decade, Canadian regions experienced unequal economic growth, and some suffered from significant excess labour demand. The Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker Program was thus expanded and conditions to access it made easier. During the same period, the pattern of regional disparities in unemployment rates became more persistent. This paper shows that some of the persistence is due to the increased availability of temporary foreign workers. This suggests that policy makers did not price them correctly to avoid adverse effects on the Canadian labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I provide evidence that suggests selective retirement does not bias estimates of wage losses due to displacement. I estimate the magnitude of hourly wage losses faced by workers who are displaced when over the age of 50. I account for the self-selection of older workers into retirement, which prevents observation of some workers' potential wage losses. The results confirm that high tenured older workers face large wage losses following displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the Quebec pulp and paper industry fell by more than 30 percent from 1990 to 2006. We use an energy demand model to analyze the contributions to this decrease of energy prices, product mix, technological change, and biomass use. The product mix is made of pulp, and cardboard, and paper. Pulp is an intermediate product for the industry, but not necessarily so for mills; vertical integration varies across mills and presents different opportunities to transfer heat between stages of production. Chemical and mechanical pulping processes are used to form two groups of pulp and paper mills. We find that changes of product mixes contributed the most to reduce GHG emissions, followed to a lesser extent by increases of fuel prices relative to electricity. The estimated electricity and fuel price elasticities are low. However it is still possible to significantly reduce GHG emissions by substituting natural gas for heavy fuel oil; such a substitution could be brought about by a small change of their relative price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]