This description, produced within the CIRANO research program on productivity, seeks to unearth the innovative economic policies that could be adapted to the Quebec context. To better understand these innovations, the cases of Bavaria, Ireland, and New-Zealand were studied and lessons for Quebec...

The positive social return on most health expenditure leads us to suggest a shift in Quebec to move away from attempts at restricting these outlays and towards a "growth management"" attitude. Such an attitude also proves compatible with the conclusions of the numerous public reports recently...

This paper first recalls the high level of public indebtedness in Quebec. A literature review and a description of the evolution of the problematics, carried out by the means of a retrospective analysis as well as a projection exercise, show (1) the "uncoupling"" of the public finances that...

Many recent empirical studies have shown that recent cohorts of immigrants to western countries face more hardship than previous cohorts. In Quebec, for instance, the welfare dependency rates of immigrants have steadily increased between 1982 and 1998 and are insensitive to fluctuations in the...

In this paper we evaluate the effectiveness of R&D tax incentives in Quebec, using manufacturing firm data from 1997 to 2003 originating from R&D surveys, annual surveys of manufactures and administrative data. The estimated price elasticity of R&D is -0.10 in the short run and -0.14 in the long...

This study compares Quebec's tax effort with that of the other Canadian provinces. The results show that the tax effort is higher in Quebec than in any other Canadian province. In the first section, the authors expose the global situation that currently prevails in Quebec. In the second section,...

This report was generated in the framework of consultations by the Expert Panel on Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing. The study first presents a brief history of equalization and the evolution of its main parameters. The principal issues are discussed next, in particular the...

This paper investigates the work incentives aspect of the new tax credit called Prime au travail introduced by the Quebec government in January 2005. The problem of work incentives is discussed and a review of the literature pertaining to the American, English and French experiences in this...

This study compares the progressivity of the income tax of Quebec and Ontario. After observing the predominance of income taxation in Quebec and Ontario, by way of international and interprovincial comparisons and illustrating the presence of progressivity in both provinces, progressivity...

As part of the 2003-2004 budget, the finance minister announced the imposition of a moratorium on certain fiscal policies related to the REA. In the advent of the termination of the moratorium in the next budget (2005-2006), the goal of this study is to find certain alternatives which could be...