This report offers an introduction to the concept of industrial policy and planning. We will define what it is, where it has worked, and how to do it better — proposing five criteria to evaluate any plans in this space. Unlike generic fiscal and monetary policy, industrial policy is not...

Estimates of the quantitative attributes of Canadian economic history, such as total output, manufacturing output, labour productivity, and price changes, have, with the application of more sophisticated methods of data collection and compilation, undergone significant revision since the 1950s....

Many criticise the Canadian economy, of its abysmal performance, of how some provinces are being left behind, high national debt and exorbitant tax rates. However, in 1992 Canada ranked as the best country in the world to live, based on GDP per capita, life expectancy, literacy rates and years...

The Staple Theory of economic growth and development was first articulated to help explain the process of economic evolution in places with an abundance of natural resources and a relatively small population. The theory assumes that only by exporting staples products and importing manufacturing...

The staple theory was developed as an analytical framework to help explain the economic evolution of countries which have a relative abundance of land and natural resources, such as Canada. It can also be used to determine under what conditions staple-related economic activity positively...

The staple theory is a subset of the export-led growth hypothesis, designed to explain the growth and economic development of resource-rich economies. It is a theory that has been misunderstood and is seen to be at odds with the stylised facts of economic growth and development as well as with...

Price indices for periods before the Second World War place more weight on less-processed products than do their post-war counterparts, to an extent that exaggerates the change over time in the composition of aggregate output. Prices of less-processed products are especially procyclical in...

The Société Générale de Belgique dominated the Belgian economy for more than 150 years. It invested for the long run in a portfolio of listed and private companies as the world’s first universal bank (pre-1935) and as holding company (post-1935). This paper presents a quantitative analysis...