Physician compensation accounts for about one-fifth of all Canadian healthcare spending. But physicians’ decisions, particularly those made by primary care doctors, are the conduit for the majority of the system’s costs. The incentives physicians have to promote efficiency, therefore, affect...

The recent financial crisis has driven many plans for improving the stability and resilience of the global financial system. One concept, managing the risk of default in securities or financial derivatives markets through central counterparties, receives scrutiny in this report. The author...

A lively debate is underway about replacing Canada's 2 percent inflation target with a target for lower inflation or a target for the price level itself when Canada's inflation-control arrangement expires at the end of 2011. Either change could reduce uncertainty about changes in the value of...

A key question in Canada's pensions debate is whether Canadians will be able to maintain their living standards in retirement, and if policy needs to respond to the risk that some will experience painful declines. To date, it has been very difficult to estimate how current trends might affect...

The need for reform of the regulation and design of workplace pensions for Canadians sparked three major provincial reviews by Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, and Nova Scotia between November 2008 and January 2009. While Canadians with incomes below half the average wage are generally...

Financial instruments indexed to the general price level are of great potential use to borrowers and lenders alike. But up until recently, they have been relatively scarce – in part because private borrowers dislike offering protection against inflation that they do not control. Since the...

Since the 2008/09 financial crisis, the international regulatory community has taken steps to reduce the probability of future significant financial instability. So far, the emphasis has been on tougher capital and liquidity regulations for banks and greater transparency for financial products,...

Retiring babyboomers are driving a shift from retirement-fund accumulation to decumulation, but they need better choices to protect against longevity risk. The author says to enhance retirees' options, policy reforms should level the playing field for annuity products and promote market-driven...

In the wake of the financial crisis, Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) have been criticized for having played a significant role in the market turmoil. Numerous reports have identified failures on the part of CRAs that have affected the quality and integrity of the rating process. In light of the...

With a possible Quebec election fast approaching, funding for child care (and public services in general) may rise to the top of the policy agenda. In the study "Reforming the Financing of Child Care in Quebec: Yes, but How?" the authors analyze the impact of two proposals on the issue, and...