This work provides a historical overview that identifies parallels between the fiscal challenges facing Canadian governments in the 1990s and those facing governments in 2011. It highlights how the federal government, as well as various provincial governments in the 1980s, failed to balance...

The discussion of the limitations of government and subsequent government failure is wholly absent from debate in Canada where, unfortunately, we still assume that governments act benevolently and without institutional constraints. That this is not true is plain to see in the pages of the...

Surprisingly, very little attention has been given in Canada to the ways other federalist countries manage programs similar to Canada's equalization program. Federalism and Fiscal Transfers is a series of essays by regional experts examining the experience of four other federalist countries --...

Economists often focus on marginal tax rates (the extra tax an individual (or firm) will owe to the government for engaging in a little more of the taxed activity) as particularly important for altering economic behaviour. The marginal tax rate is significant because it indicates the amount of...

The traditional definition of tax progressivity is being rewritten and this change could have serious ramifications for democratic decision-making. Up to now, tax progressivity has meant that, as an individual or household earned more income, they not only paid more in taxes but also paid a...

The essays collected for this publication are designed to provide readers and particularly those in Ontario a better sense of where the province's debt stands today, the expectations for the future, and warnings about the likely costs of inaction. Part of the motivation for this publication was...

Measuring Labour Markets in Canada and the United States: 2010 Edition is the sixth installment in our ongoing research to assess the performance of labour markets and explain why results differ among jurisdictions. This study provides a series of specific evaluations as well as a comprehensive...