Public alarms have sounded over the rising holdings of cash on Canadian businesses’ balance sheets. Critics have alleged the hoards reflect a market failure or collective business failure to invest productively in new machinery and equipment. A closer look at the situation suggests more to the...

Policymakers should not overreact to perceptions of corporate ‘dead money’, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “It’s Alive! Corporate Cash and Business Investment,” author Finn Poschmann points out that corporate cash holdings, as a share of output, have not grown since...

In the wake of a series of crises, international and domestic financial regulation has become highly complex and prescriptive, and oriented to leverage, liquidity, and capital ratios among financial institutions. This raises concerns over monitoring incentives, and over the increased role of...

Crown corporations are business enterprises owned by governments – having been established to achieve a range of public policy goals, they tend also to have revenue-generating objectives. In the financial sector, the Crowns typically had their origins in a perceived lack of credit – a credit...

Alberta and Ontario are leading the pack in innovation as measured by patents filed per capita, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Measuring Innovation in Canada: The Tale Told by Patent Applications,” authors Robbie Brydon, Nicholas Chesterley, Benjamin Dachis and...

Canada needs a better and faster payments system, according to a report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “A Speedier and More Efficient Payments System for Canada,” author Mati Dubrovinsky finds that the Canadian economy would benefit from an upgraded payments system that creates lower...

The Canadian labour market suffered a severe blow during the last recession, with more than 430,000 persons losing their jobs and the unemployment rate reaching levels unseen since the latter half of the 1990s. Subsequently, the labour market has shown great resilience, and there are now 900,000...

Canada’s performance in business investment per worker relative to its peers is sliding, led by dismal performances in Quebec and Ontario, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Capital Needed: Canada Needs More Robust Business Investment,” authors Benjamin Dachis, William B.P....

Ontario electricity consumers will benefit from less risk and lower prices if the province moves to a capacity market for obtaining generation, according to a report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Rethinking Ontario’s Electricity System with Consumers in Mind,” author Michael Wyman...