Fiscal Federalism and Equalization Policy in Canada: Political and Economic Dimensions

by Daniel Béland, Andrï Lecours, Gregory Marchildon, Haizhen Mou, Rose Olfert

Overview

Fiscal Federalism and Equalization Policy in Canada aims to increase public understanding of equalization and fiscal federalism by providing a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective on the history, politics, and economics of equalization policy in Canada. The authors provide a brief history, an analysis of the politics of equalization as witnessed over the last fifteen years, and a discussion of key economic debates concerning the role of the program and its effects. They also explore the relationship between equalization and other components of fiscal federalism, particularly the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer. The result is an analysis that draws from the best scholarship available in the fields of economics, economic history, political science, political sociology, and public policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442635425
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	08/08/2017
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Daniel Béland is Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University.


André Lecours is a professor of political studies at the University of Ottawa.


Gregory P. Marchildon is Ontario Research Chair in Health Policy and System Design and Professor at the Institute of Health, Policy and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.


Haizhen Mou is a professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan.


M. Rose Olfert is Professor Emerita at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
The Authors
Introduction

1. Equalization in Comparative and Historical Perspective
2. The Politics of Equalization
3. The Economics of Equalization
4. Equalization and the Federal Transfer System

Conclusion
Data Appendix
Index

What People are Saying About This

Mel Cappe

"Fiscal federalism is the unfinished business of Confederation. Understanding it is essential for national unity and the future of the country. There may be only seventeen people in Canada who understand it and five of them have written this valuable short book."

Keith Banting

"The principle of interregional redistribution is central to Canadian conceptions of equity, yet a critical instrument of this redistribution— the equalization program—is poorly understood and subject to endless myth-making. This concise book helps unlock the mysteries."

Editorial Reviews

“I highly recommend the book to anyone (academics, students and citizens) learning about equalization for the first time. I also recommend it to experts looking to refine or consolidate their learning, because nowhere else will they find so much about the program in just 114 pages. Finally, I recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary equalization policy debates.”

Kyle Hanniman

“I highly recommend the book to anyone (academics, students and citizens) learning about equalization for the first time. I also recommend it to experts looking to refine or consolidate their learning, because nowhere else will they find so much about the program in just 114 pages. Finally, I recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary equalization policy debates.”

—Kyle Hanniman, Canadian Journal of Political Science

"Fiscal federalism is the unfinished business of Confederation. Understanding it is essential for national unity and the future of the country. There may be only seventeen people in Canada who understand it and five of them have written this valuable short book."

—Mel Cappe, University of Toronto

"The principle of interregional redistribution is central to Canadian conceptions of equity, yet a critical instrument of this redistribution— the equalization program—is poorly understood and subject to endless myth-making. This concise book helps unlock the mysteries."

—Keith Banting, Queen's University

From the Publisher