We evaluate efficiency considerations underlying the widespread exemption of food from sales and value added taxes and the implications for tax policy. Household and restaurant meals and both constant and increasing returns cases are examined. Higher taxes on food offset the non-taxation of time...

This paper discusses efficiency considerations underlying the widespread exemption of food from sales and value added taxes, in contrast to the distributional considerations usually used to justify them, analyzing the implications for tax policy. Although there are increasing returns in both...

This paper summarizes the literature on economic growth. This literature suggests that investment in machinery and equipment (M&E) could foster economic growth. But, because of the need to cover the fixed costs of innovating, price is higher than the marginal cost and there will be...

This review article evaluates the book “Growing the Productivity of Government Services” by Patrick Dunleavy and Leandro Carrera, which examines how government outputs can be measured and how the United Kingdom has strived to improve government productivity. The author finds the book...

This review article evaluates the report Towards Measuring the Volume Output of Education and Health Services: A Handbook produced by the OECD. Traditionally, input costs have been used to estimate the value of education and health services. The Handbook provides detailed analysis and...

This paper looks at the reasons for Canada’s low business research and development (R&D) intensity. R&D performance across OECD countries is examined, and a detailed decomposition is undertaken of differences between Canadian and U.S. R&D levels across industries. Canada’s low aggregate R&D...

A key parameter in determining the response of investment to changes in its price is the user cost elasticity. But the empirical evidence on the user cost elasticity is mixed.. Traditional macro-econometric estimation has yielded a value close to zero whereas newer micro-econometric estimates...

This paper looks at the increasing trend around the world to evaluate the quantity and quality of universities’ research output. Evaluations can provide a useful role in clarifying the performance of university research, and give incentives to increase research output and quality because of...