Public-sector investment funds (especially pension funds) have been increasingly pooled and managed by investment management firms in Ontario. Pooled asset management generates a net benefit to public-sector spending patterns by realizing benefits from economies of scale, including reducing...

In the decade leading up to the pandemic, safe assets did not keep pace with global demand. The supply of high-grade government bonds in advanced economies was constrained because budget deficits were declining. At the same time, the demand for these assets increased due to the aging population,...

Canadian business and political leaders have long looked to strengthen bilateral economic relations with the ASEAN Economic Community based on its openness to trade, its dynamism and its integration into Asian production chains. Given the shift from an Asia-Pacific to an Indo-Pacific framing for...

At the five-month mark, the costs of Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” have soared and spread. The short-term economic costs of the invasion include not only the direct war damage in Ukraine and the immediate consequences of the economic sanctions and counter-sanctions on...

There are some 2,500 international investment agreements (IIAs) in force around the world, whether as stand-alone treaties or incorporated into bilateral or regional free trade agreements (FTAs). They are a significant feature of the international business scene.A main feature of these...

Over the past several years, the federal government has consulted widely in formulating new rules for the regulation of brand-name drug prices through the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) and a long-delayed set of rules that are expected to result in large price reductions, now...

The pandemic has kicked Canadian government debt to high levels. Federal and provincial budget plans could well see it go higher for decades and even generations. The 2021 federal budget demonstrates the sensitivity and fragility of Canada’s fiscal prospects. In this E-Brief, we explore...

Green bonds have become a fixture on global capital markets since they were first introduced in 2007. International development banks have been present in the green bond space from the outset and have been joined by governments, state enterprises, business enterprises, and financial institutions...

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank of Canada has cut the overnight rate to 0.25 percent, the threshold it sees as the lower bound for its main policy instrument. At the lower bound, the Bank can no longer use its most direct tool to influence economic activity. The federal government...

This study considers the issue of Crown corporation governance and whether there is an “optimal” or best approach. The annual commercial operations of Canada’s Crown corporations are equivalent to over 7 percent of Canadian GDP, yet there has been surprisingly little over-arching research...