Thomas A. Wilson

Thomas J. Courchene

John Deutsch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy

When will the fiscal dividend appear and what is its likely magnitude? Should deficit targets be replaced by debt targets or debt/GDP targets? Should the fiscal dividend focus on tax cuts and increases in program expenditures? Should the Canadian government shift away from an annual deficit target to budget balance over the cycle to allow automatic stabilizers to play their important buffering role? And if so, what level of contingency reserve is necessary to ensure that cyclical budget balance can be met? Addressing these and other important questions, Fiscal Targets and Economic Growth provides valuable insights into labour force trends, productivity, long-term projections, automatic stabilizers, fiscal prudence, Optimal debt ratios, and investing the fiscal dividend.

Proceedings of a Conference Held in Kingston, 5-6 September, 1997

Fiscal Targets and Economic Growth

Institute for Research on Public Policy

What happens when the world changes in ways that make Canada's physical capital, natural resources, and geography – once the ultimate competitive advantages – less important than knowledge, information, technological know-how, and human capital? What happens to Canadians? In A State of Minds Thomas Courchene examines the political structures that link local, provincial, and federal governments and challenges many longstanding beliefs about how society should be organised and financed. While focusing on Canadian competitiveness in a global economy, Courchene shows us how an open federal state like Canada can achieve both economic prosperity and social justice. Always provocative, Courchene blends compelling analysis and reasoned insight with a prescription for change: To stay ahead of the competitive curve and protect the Canadian way of life, Canada must become a "state of minds."

Thomas J. Courchene

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