Quebec’s relative growth performance with Ontario has always been an issue of concern for economic historians. In his paper Pierre Fortin discusses trends in Quebec’s real domestic income relative to that in Ontario over the last half-century. He finds that per capita real domestic income in...

In this chapter by Janice Stein warns about the dangers of adopting a narrow conception of productivity and efficiency. Building on her analysis in The Cult of Efficiency, she argues that the language of efficiency, understood narrowly as cost-effectiveness, confronts distinctive problems when...

This chapter by Emile Tompa provides a comprehensive review of the theoretical underpinnings and empirical evidence of the health-productivity relationship with an emphasis on the public policy implications. This relationship goes well beyond the obvious effect of health on capacity to work both...

Productivity research is Canada has traditionally focused on narrow economic issues. In our view, it has given inadequate attention to the broader ramifications of productivity, both in terms of shedding light on the importance of productivity for the advancement of various aspects of social...

As the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reach their end date in 2015, negotiations are ramping up at the United Nations for the establishment of a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, to be announced in September this year, will replace the MDGs and serve as a universal...

William B.P. Robson, a co-author with David Slater of a series of papers on pension issues, has written an ambitious survey of the state of Canadian economic policy in the areas of pensions and health care. He argues that it is appropriate to tackle both issues in the same paper because they are...

This report provides an assessment of human capital development in British Columbia. The province's performance is above average according to the majority of the indicators we analyze, relative to both the rest of Canada and other OECD countries. However, this does not mean that there is no room...

In contrast to the significant slowdown in aggregate productivity growth in Canada since 2000, the labour productivity performance of the primary agriculture sector has been strong. The objective of this study is to shed light on the factors behind the sector's success. This report provides an...

This report analyzes labour productivity, multifactor productivity and input trends in Canadian food manufacturing since 1961, with a focus on the entire time period and developments since 2000. It is found that the subsector experienced labour productivity growth stronger than the business...

Skills, innovation and human capital as they feature prominently on the policy agenda of industrialized countries concerned with productivity and competitiveness issues. Not surprisingly, formal education is the preferred and most conventional policy instrument of governments in pursuing these...