Vol.
22 No. 1 March 1996
Articles:
Public Provision of Pensions: The Doug Purvis Memorial Lecture
Peter Diamond
Public
provision of pensions to the general population comes in a variety
of forms. Systems designed around a benefit formula and systems designed
around a contribution rate differ in their economic implications and
differ in their political settings. Canada has a defined benefit system
with fallback automatic adjustment of tax rates.
This
paper contrasts the Canadian system with the Chilean (privatized)
defined contribution system which has received a great deal of attention
worldwide. The paper discusses three approaches to cutting benefits
if the currently anticipated tax increase is larger than is desired.
Class, Citizenship, and Global Migration: The Case of the Canadian
Business Immigration Program, 1978-1992
Trevor Harrison
This
paper deals with the circumstances leading to the enactment by several
Western governments of business immigration programs. The case of
Canada's Business Immigration Program is specifically profiled. It
is suggested that such programs are a response implemented by the
governments of core states to resolve their country's fiscal problems
and, ultimately, their own declining legitimacy. At the same time,
business immigration programs also are emblematic of the rise of an
international capitalist class. The paper concludes that such programs
are unlikely to resolve the fiscal problems for which they are intended.
Instead, they may cause several unintended problems, including damaging
the notion of inclusiveness imbedded in the moder concept of citizenship,
thus further lessening the legitimacy of the state.
Ending Universality: The Case of Child Benefits
Frances Woolley, Arndt Vermaeten and Judith Madill
The
paper evaluates the 1993 child tax benefit reforms using the Social
Policy Simulation Model and Database (SPSD/M) developed by Statistics
Canada. The paper argues that few of the benefits of the reform went
to the poorest families. Instead, because of the interaction of the
tax and benefit system, the greatest net beneficiaries were lower-middle
income families in the $40,000 to $50,000 income range. The paper
also evaluates the effectiveness of the earned income supplement in
increasing incentives to participate in the labour market. It argues
that, because of tax back provisions, the earned income supplement
results, on average, in an increase in marginal tax rates for Canadian
families. Moreover, even when the earned income supplement decreases
marginal tax rates, it will have only the most minimal effects on
labour force participation.
The Effect of Different Police Enforcement Policies on the Control
of Prostitution
E. Nick Larsen
This
article conducts a comparative analysis of prostitution control in
four Canadian cities using police enforcement policies as the independent
variable. Most recent Canadian prostitution research has centred on
assessing the adequacy of the existing law, and the majority of analysts
have concluded that most prostitution offences ought to be decriminalized.
However, the analysis in this article assumes that the law is unlikely
to be changed in the near future, and instead argues that Canadian
policy already possess sufficient legal discretion to decide when
and where they will enforce the law. The article conducts a qualitative
analysis of police enforcement policies (in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg
and Toronto) ranging from strict enforcement of the law against prostitutes,
customers and both prostitutes and customers through to various forms
of selective toleration and negotiation among the various affected
groups. Based on this analysis, the writer concludes that the most
effective way of reducing both the nuisance and the political conflict
associated with prostitution involves selective toleration, combined
with negotiation between prostitutes and other affected groups. The
article concludes with a feminist oriented discussion of the reasons
why attempts to suppress prostitution will not work and why the prostitutes
themselves must be part of any discussions regarding the control of
prostitution.
The Ends of Three Small Inflations: Australia, New Zealand and
Canada
Guy Debelle
The
increase in the independence of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in
1989 allows a test of the theoretical implications of the central
bank independence literature. Furthermore, the similar inflationary
experiences of Australia and Canada provide a rare set of controls.
This paper shows that in the short term, the cost of disinflation
have not been less in New Zealand than in Australia and that in Canada,
where increased credibility was only supported by rhetoric and not
legislation, the costs were higher. However, other concurrent reforms
in New Zealand may have clouded the picture and the true test may
be the path of inflation in the three countries as the economies continue
to recover.
