bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
L’impact d’une zone de libre-échange entre le Canada et les États-Unis : examen critique de l’étude de Wonnacott
Authors: Wilkinson B. W.
Published: July 2012

The Wonnacott study concludes that the most realistic and beneficial commercial policy Canada is likely to be able to pursue at the moment would be to negotiate a Canada-U.S. free trade arrangement. This paper consist primarily of assigning different weights to a variety of the considerations Wonnacott raises and analyzing the effects of these different weights on his conclusions regarding the appropriate free trade strategy for Canada. A number of issues are also raised which do not appear to have been examined in Wonnacott's analysis. The thrust of the paper is three-fold. First, there may not be as large a net economic benefits of Canada-United States free trade as the Wonnacott presentation suggests. Second, depending upon the weight one assigns to some of the political-economic factors, the advantages of the former policy may be reduced even more and accordingly we should not be stampeded into a bilateral Canada-United States agreement. And third, if any change in commercial policy is to have a maximum beneficial effect upon Canada, then regardless of what commercial policy is followed, more attention will have to be given to a number of broader issues such as Canadian practices and policies relating to its overall balance of payments (including capital inflows and their effects upon the Canadian dollar), and to protectionnist provincial policies encouraging the fragmentation of industry.
Critique de la position du Conseil économique du Canada sur le libre-échange unilatéral
Authors: Shearer Ronald
Published: July 2012

In this article, the author proposes to focus on two related questions: Does the Economic Council's analysis suggest major theoretical errors in—or perhaps major theoretical challenges to—received doctrine on the nature of the impact of a unilateral removal of Canadian barriers to international trade? To what extent do the Economic Council's findings alter, extend or refine earlier quantitative assessments of the effects of unilateral free trade.

The Council's analysis of the option of unilateral free trade is very brief. A very useful analysis of aspects of this option in the Dauphin study gets very little attention in the report itself. The conclusions on unilateral free trade are very much in the mainstream of Canadian thought on this matter, with perhaps some scaling down of the benefits imputed to unilateral tariff removal. The author finds two serious flaws in the otherwise useful discussion: a failure to give sufficient attention the implications of unilateral free trade for income redistribution within the country, and, in examining the implications of free trade for the long run structure of the economy, a failure to consider explicitly and thoroughly the interaction between the tariff and population and labour force growth, as suggested by Dales.
La loi des coûts comparatifs : proposition vraie, mais non triviale
Authors: Eastman H. C.
Published: July 2012

The case for free trade by the Economic Council of Canada rests on established economic analysis respecting the effect of free trade on industrial organization to induce rationalization, on factor prices to induce international specialization and on innovation to raise productivity and eventually reduce foreign ownership. These effects are not measurable exactly. Hence decision to act requires faith in the reliability of abstract reasoning and comprehension of the logical validity of the theory of comparative advantage.

Urgency in adopting free trade policy exists because the spread of common markets is inducing rationalization and specialization elsewhere, because low wage rate countries are developing rapidly in standardized productivity owing to the temporary boom in Canadian exports of oil and gas.

Multilateral free trade is unlikely to be achieved in the short-term owing to the disinterest of the principal nations and Canada should reduce its tariffs unilaterally. The political possibility of such a policy is increased by growing public distrust of interventionism.
Le Conseil économique et l’impact régional de la politique commerciale
Authors: Sinclair A. M.
Published: July 2012

Given that there are a number of possible models of the regional impact of a tariff, one would have hoped that the Council would have attempted to test the standard ones and/or to have developed new and better ones. After almost forty years Mackintosh's model is still probably the most persuasive model of the long run impact of the tariff in Canada. The Council in its main report has been largely content to repeat and to some extent to confuse elements of the conventional wisdom on the subject. Interesting points have been made in some of the background studies, particularly, among the studies reviewed, by Postner and by Dauphin.

At a general level, the Council has failed to integrate its recommendations concerning tariff policy into the general framework of regional policy in this country. Specifically, the Council fails to consider explicitly that on "second best" grounds the elimination of tariffs may not lead to an improvement in resource allocation, nor does it consider in any detail policies which would be preferable to tariffs to achieve regional (and other) objectives which require intervention by the government. For a study which suggests that free trade would bring gains of at least five per cent of GNP, or over $8 billion per year at current levels of production, it would be unfortunate if a certain naïveté in exposition of the free trade case were to consign the document to the political dust-bin.
Examen critique de quelques hypothèses sous-jacentes à la nouvelle politique commerciale suggérée par le Conseil économique du Canada
Authors: Nappi Carmine
Published: July 2012

This paper criticizes some optimistic hypotheses implied by the Economic Council in proposing its new commercial policy for Canada.

More specifically, it shows why the Samuelsonian free trade model has been misused by the Council and that its reasons for explaining the weak comparative productivity of the Canadian secondary sector are clearly insufficient. Also, the Council underestimates the total costs of the proposed policy and its regional effects.

The paper suggests that the Council's recommendation would be more politically acceptable if it could demonstrate that the new policy will not continue to benefit only the Ontarian peninsula. It would also help if the Council could name the industries able in the medium term to absorb the factors displaced by the tariff elimination, and if it could refute the proposition that more free trade sectorial tests are needed before adopting the proposed very general commercial policy.
Les préférences tarifaires canadiennes et la libéralisation des échanges
Authors: Ahmad Jaleel
Published: July 2012

The developing countries currently enjoy preferential entry on designated exports of manufactures under the Canadian Scheme of Generalized Preferences introduced in 1974. This paper makes a quantitative assessment of the erosion of such preferential margins likely to result from current multilateral tariff negotiations at GATT. Estimates are made under four alternative tariff-cutting techniques.
Activités tertiaires et hiérarchies urbaines : une évaluation de six méthodes d’analyse
Authors: Ouellet Normand , Polèse Mario
Published: July 2012

Urban and regional economists are often asked to construct central place models which will properly describe the urban hierarchy (in terms of the service sector) of the region which they are studying. In all such studies, the chief analytical problem is basically one of correctly defining (and measuring) tertiary activity and of correctly weighting the various functions which make up the service sector.

In this paper, the authors review six alternative methods for measuring and weighting tertiary functions. The mathematical and conceptual properties of each approach are discussed and evaluated. In the second part of the article, the authors compare the actual results obtained by these alternative methods, using data on the Quebec urban system to test their results. They conclude that no one method is entirely satisfactory, each approach measuring a part of reality. But some methods do nevertheless seem to perform better than others: in this respect, the use of localization coefficient type approach seems generally to give the least biased results.
Économies d’échelle dans les opérations des caisses populaires du district de Québec
Authors: Khoury Nabil T.
Published: July 2012

The application of the computer to the servicing of deposit accounts at banks and non-bank financial intermediaries is a fairly recent development. Most empirical studies of economies of scale in this industry date prior to this technological transition. There is one notable exception, however, and that is the study by D. L. Daniel, W. A. Longbrake and N. B. Murphy (1972), in which they reported economies of scale in the servicing of checking deposits for computerized banks, especially when the number of such accounts exceeds the 10,600 mark. The present study examines the issue for a different type of computer-using deposit institution, namely: a sample of 128 Canadian Credit Unions located in the district of Quebec and referred to as the "Caisses Populaires" (C.P.'s). These institutions were chosen for the study because they present some unique characteristics and also because they were among the first Canadian financial institutions to computerize the servicing of their deposit operations.

Following G. J. Benston (1970) and F. Bell and N. Murphy (1968), the data has been tested using two different models. The empirical results of both tests indicate that computerization did not generate any economies of scale in the checking deposit accounts. Further analysis reveals that the potential economies of scale were captured by the lessor of the equipment through a financial arrangement tying the rent to the number of cheking accounts to be serviced.
Trois bicentenaires : Hume, Condillac, Smith. Adam Smith entre le marginalisme et le marxisme
Authors: Pelletier Gérard-R.
Published: July 2012

It is not easy to understand why, and how, orthodox economists who do not believe either in the labor-theory or in the cost-theory of value, continue to favor Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, but forget such economists as Condillac, whose value theory is nearer to theirs and whose bicentenary we also commemorate.

Adam Smith, it is submitted, is still interesting but for reasons far enough from orthodox economic theory. Smith is in fact, according to some recent interpretations, more of a welfare economist, concerned with moral values, than a partial analysis economist: his theory of value derives from ethical considerations following Hume and keeps its normative flavor throughout instead of being solely a tentative explanation of prices. Some apparently contradictory assertions about value could thus be reconciled in a unifying theory, as explained by such authors as Lindgren (1973) or Rieseman (1976).

If it is possible to reconcile many apparently contradictory views in Adam Smith's works, thanks to a more holistic approach, it is suggested that a similar approach could be applied to a more controversial economist, Karl Marx, whose career may be compared to that of Smith in many respects.
Une théorie réaliste des prix et de la production
Authors: Beach E. F.
Published: July 2012

The assumption of a single price at any time is very generally imposed on market theorizing. It is unrealistic, but generally accepted because of the needs of welfare theory, and of current theoretical methods. In order to evaluate the significance of the loss in realism from the use of this assumption, it seems to be worthwhile to start with the other extreme of complete ignorance in a market, and allow buyers and sellers to pair off at random, allowing a diversity of prices. It is very interesting that in such a "blind market" the quantity traded tends to be larger, by about 44 per cent.

The theory of such a market can be based on a Marshallian industry, and many different versions are suggested. The theory does seem to give useful insight into the results of imposing uniform pricing by barbers, and uniform wage rates in labour markets. The loss in trade and employment seems to be great enough that we should examine a little more carefully the arguments that have been accepted so easily that such uniformity implies greater equity.
Distribution des revenus et développement : quelques faits stylisés
Authors: Ahluwalia Montek S.
Published: July 2012

In recent years, the relationship between income distribution and the process of development has come under increasing scrutinity. Much of the debate has focused on the hypothesis, originally advanced by Simon Kuznets, that the secular behavior of inequality follows an inverted U shaped pattern which inequality first increasing and then decreasing with development. This hypothesis has become so much a part of the conventional wisdom on this subject that it has generated considerable skepticism about the welfare implications of the development process. Indeed, on some interpretations, developing countries face the grim prospect not just of increasing relative inequality, but also of declining absolute incomes for the lower income groups.

The object of the article is to re-examine the empirical basis for this hypothesis using a recent compilation of cross-country data made at the World Bank. The author uses multiple regression to estimate cross country relationships between inequality, as reflected in the income shares of various percentile groups, and selected explanatory variables reflecting different aspects of the development process. The results suggest that while there may be a secular time path for inequality which developing countries must traverse and which contains a phase of increasing inequality, there is at least no evidence that faster growing countries show higher inequality at the same level of development than slower growing countries.
L’efficacité, l’égalité, l’équité et la répartition personnelle des revenus
Authors: Henry Jacques
Published: July 2012

The analysis of the impact of economic policy and of the process of growth on personal income distribution is getting greater priority in the literature. Such an analysis cannot usefully be pursued in the light of efficiency considerations alone; it must also take equality and equity into account. Equity is defined here as a characterization of a state of affairs in terms of three parameters: (1) the choice of a distributive norm, (2) the specification of what is to be distributed, and (3) a measure of the degree of inequality that exists. A general "equity function" (E) is defined, whose particular form reflects the chosen distributive norm, and whose two arguments are the sum total to be distributed and a measure of the inequality that characterizes the distribution of that sum. Then, a number of critera of distributive justice are compared, and the criteria based on the relative and absolute income gaps are found to be the most useful. This suggests the formulation of an "equity index" (e) which is sensitive to both growth, relative inequality and absolute inequality. Unsurprisingly, empirical estimates show that the "equity index" has risen in socialist countries and fallen in non-socialist countries as a group. The "equity index" is also estimated for a number of individual countries, but the results are difficult to interpret without an in depth analysis of the circumstances of each country.
La nature du progrès technique et la substitution des facteurs dans les pays en voie de développement
Authors: Hawrylyshyn Oli
Published: July 2012

The first part of the paper presents a new typology of direction of technological progress which is more suited to the problem of employment in developing countries, and factor substitution effects. An alternative to elasticity of substitution is proposed as providing more insights into the employment problems, namely the "range of substitution". The main conclusions here are that labour-saving technological progress as usually defined does not necessarily mean a reduced scope for substitution, contrary to the popular view of the technological determinist, but that nevertheless the most desirable direction of progress is in the neighborhood of the labour-intensive ridge line. The second part of the paper then considers how progress can be so directed. First, technological progress is narrowly defined not as a shift of the isoquant but as a movement of a particular process-point on the isoquant, reflecting the practical nature of R&D.

Concluding that new technology is the result of efforts and resources denoted to a process, the paper infers from that the following policy implication: to improve employment opportunities, R&D resources must be oriented to labour-intensive processes, either by incentives or more explicitly. As a cautionary note, it is suggested factor prices do nevertheless matter, and technical efficiency is still an important criterion.
La théorie du sous-emploi urbain dans les pays en voie de développement
Authors: Mazumdar Dipak
Published: July 2012

The article investigates the working of a model of an urban labor market in LDG's which has two sectors—one sector (the U-sector) being characterized by ease of entry, variable hours of work and flexible earnings, the other (the O-sector), by rigid wages maintained at a relatively high level. Migrants from the rural areas respond to the expected earnings in both sectors, and can search for O-sector jobs while participating in the U-sector. Labor supply determined by such a migration function, together with the relative rates of growth of income in the two urban sub-sectors (on plausible assumptions) lead to the possibility that average earnings in the U-sector decline over time relative not only to O-sector wage, but also to the alternative income in the rural sector. In the last section a distinction made between two types of job seekers found in the U-sector—those with and those without an interest in the O-sector—gives the result that average earnings in the U-sector may sometimes be independent of conditions in the O-sector. It is also seen that, under certain conditions, even with ease of entry and variable hours of work, the U-sector may not serve as a channel for migrants seeking to enter the O-sector. The analysis provides a classification of labor market types which may be of help in organizing empirical information from different parts of the world.
Entreprises transnationales, exportations de produits manufacturés et emploi dans les pays moins développés
Authors: Helleiner G. K.
Published: July 2012

This article is an abridged version of a document presented by the author at the World Conference on Employment held in Geneva in 1976. The study deals successively with the role of transnational enterprises in the production (and marketing) of exports to other LDC's and developed countries, the composition of these exports as well as their short and long-term effects on economic development, government revenues, employment and income. Outlining difficulties with which the LDC's will be confronted in their promotion of the export sector, the author puts forward several policy areas where active negotiations between developed countries and LDC's could lead to substantial improvement.
Uniformisation des taux de profit et hypothèse sectorielle
Authors: Chiavelli Alain , Rainelli Michel
Published: July 2012

The hypothesis of an equalization of sectorial rates of profit has an important role to play in the economic theory. Though it has been formulated a long time ago (A. Smith, D. Ricardo…), now as a definite principle (with its mechanism) and now as a postulate, it is however contradicted by statistical observation. There have been various answers to this problem. We propose to study it in a new light, emphasizing that the formulation of this "law" as well as its empirical evidence are registered within the traditional framework of activity sector. Then, we have to think about the latter as it has a fundamental role to play. But the activity sector is no longer a homogeneous category, for firms can considerably differentiate the conditions (technological and financial ones) of capital allowance, independently of any reference to the notion of product. Then, we must think over this problem, no longer wondering where this allowance of the capital is produced, but how. This brings us to propose the elaboration of a new classification of the firms, that leads to an analysis at an "intermediary level" other than the insufficient level that results from the division of the economy into activity sectors.
L’évolution des dépenses et recettes des administrations publiques. La poursuite du scénario actuel est-elle possible?
Authors: Vézina Jean-P.
Published: July 2012

The importance of the governmental sector increased at a particularly high rate. This has been made possible by higher taxes, especially taxes on personal income. Those taxes increased at an average annual rate of 18% since 1965. One may question on the possibility of increasing again taxes without deteriorating the general performance of the economy. In other words, is it possible to maintain in the future the present scenario, that is to increase the relative importance of the public sector without this being detrimental to the other sectors of the economy? In this article, the author tries to answer these questions.
Une analyse économétrique du comportement d’intermédiation financière des sociétés de crédit populaire : le cas des caisses populaires
Authors: Chateau Jean-Pierre D.
Published: July 2012

Considering the Caisses populaires as a financial system, we propose an econometric model of its consolidated balance sheet built around the following four major blocks. The first one presents a dynamic sub-model of the Caisses' asset portfolio, which emphasizes their intermediation among assets on the basis of the latter interest rates. In a second block, these rates are endogenized with respect to the key variables of both the real and monetary sectors of the economy. On the liability side, the Caisses' deposit market is dealt with in a third block, namely a demand for deposits or flow equation and a supply of deposits or rate setting operation. Finally, adjustment equations for the balance sheet items not already considered, are grouped in a fourth block. The overall model is dynamized through the deposit equation.

From the model's econometric estimation, we arrive at the following conclusions about financial management and liquidity policies. On the asset side of the balance sheet, the Caisses aim mainly at satisfying their members' needs for mortgages and, to a lesser but growing degree, for consumer loans. Next, for the funds remaining after satisfying internal needs, the institution proceeds to some sort of secondary, medium-term intermediation, then preferring quasi-liquid and higher yielding bonds to reserves. On the liability side, the Caisses seem to set their rate on deposits on the basis of the one for chartered banks (price leadership) as well as on the basis of the most representative asset rates, i.e. the ones on consumer and mortgage loans. Finally, the public demand for the Caisses' deposits, is more a function of the borrowing privileges offered to the members than of the intrinsic competitive rate paid on them.
L’économie des ressources naturelles
Authors: Peterson Frederick M. , Fisher Anthony C.
Published: July 2012

A survey of the literature on the economics of natural resources. Extractive resources are classified as renewable or non-renewable, depending on whether they exhibit economically significant rates of regeneration. A unified model of optimal extraction over time is developed, drawing on a number of contributions to the literature. Special features are developed for the renewable and non-renewable cases, and extensions and applications are noted, as well as needs for further research. Policy issues are treated, chief among these being the extent to which the market can be trusted to generate the right rate of extraction. Finally the empirical evidence is reviewed on whether we are running out of extractive resources.
L’exploration des ressources extractives non renouvelables : théorie économique, processus stochastique et vérification
Authors: Crabbé Ph.
Published: July 2012

Most of the literature devoted to the "theory of the mine" has been developed under certainty. It has been unable to explain the activity of exploration. The stochastic models of exploration were developed quasi-independently from economic theory. The purpose of this article is to survey both the mining and economic literature related to the "theory of the mine" under uncertainty and the exploration models since the turn of the century. The survey is complementary to the one made in this journal by F. Peterson and A.C. Fisher.

The first part defines exploration as being essentially a search and information gathering activity. It reviews the contributions to the economic theory of exploration and resource stock uncertainty. It compares the optimal extraction path and the life cycle of the mine under stock uncertainty and stock certainty. It shows in particular that increasing the rate of discount is generally inappropriate to take account of stock uncertainty. Some partial equilibrium results on exploration are given as well. The presence of stock uncertainty or exploration in a general equilibrium model is shown to jeopardize the optimality of competitive allocations.

The second part points out the wealth of the theoretical and empirical analysis of exploration as a stochastic process. It first reviews the literature on size distributions of reserves which gives strong theoretical and empirical support to the lognormal hypothesis. It then goes on to the exploration models which roughly speaking can be broken down into two groups. The Allais type models, better suited for relatively unexplored regions, which combine a Poisson or negative binomial process for discovery with a lognormal distribution for sizes. The Arps-Roberts-Kaufman type models, more adequate for "mature" regions, assume exhaustive sampling with probability proportional to size of discovery. Generally the treatment of the discovery process, to be distinguished from the sampling for sizes, and the handling of geological information are still woefully inadequate.

The third and last part of the survey points out the gap which exists in the microeconomic literature about the study of random inputs. It suggests that the theory of dams and insurance and the theory of search especially adaptive search could be fruitfully used. Problems which remain to be tackled are the influence of stock uncertainty on grade of ore mined and on investment in capacity.
La stabilité des prix des ressources non renouvelables
Authors: McRae James J.
Published: July 2012

One particular problem with the competitive solution to resource pricing is the potential for resource price instability. Using monthly data on prices for five different minerals the author examines, with the help of statistical techniques, the behaviour of prices over the years 1922-1974. He finds that fears of potential resource price instability have been overstated. Due either to the capitalization reactions of resource owners, or to the fact that resource markets are characterized by a monopolized industrial structure, real resource prices appear to show remarkable stability.
Substitutions, rendements d’utilisation et évaluation de la consommation d’énergie
Authors: Girod Jacques
Published: July 2012

Use efficiency of the various forms of energy are essential parameters in the determination of useful energy consumption. Some authors (Adams and Miovic) have attempted to determine these by using econometric models instead of direct, and essentially technical, measurement. The paper presents this last method and insists on the fact that a correct determination of use efficiency requires that we distinguish between fossil fuels and electricity. Some results concerning the rate of substitution between the different forms of energy are provided.
Ressources non renouvelables et taxation
Authors: Gaudet Gérard
Published: July 2012

A discussion of the main controversies over the tax treatment of the natural resource industries, of optimal taxation in relation to various policy objectives, and of the possibility of attaining these objectives through the main forms of taxation and royalties now in existence.
L’intégration verticale dans l’industrie minière
Authors: Bernard Jean-Thomas
Published: July 2012

Vertical integration occurs when a transaction between two consecutive stages of production is carried through an internal organisation rather than the market. For most mineral products that are found in Canada, we can observe a fairly high degree of vertical integration from exploration up to refining. The purpose of this paper is to review the various approaches that have been used to study vertical integration in economic analysis and to evaluate their applicability to the Canadian mining sector. Thus far economists have approched vertical integration from three different stand points: first, the efficiency of interval organisation relative to the market in dealing with uncertainty under certain circumstances; second, the capacity to extend market power through vertical integration, and third, vertical integration can arise as an adjustment to some institutional constraints resulting mostly from government interventions. Although the efficiency and the monopolistic argument have contributed to vertical integration in the Canadian mining sector, government intervention in the form of special tax rules have also played a major role.
Technologie, matières premières et pétrole : vers un monopole bilatéral?
Authors: Ayoub Antoine
Published: July 2012

What is the appropriate economic policy for primary commodity producing developing countries given that industrialized countries are specialized in the production of technological progress? Integrating the concept of product life cycle to the static theory of comparative advantage, Harry Johnson has argued that free trade will, by spreading the technology, dissolve the monopoly in technology, and thus constitutes the only policy capable of transmitting growth from one country to another. This article criticizes this thesis on the following points: 1) A rigorous interpretation of the concept of product life cycle and of the underlying assumptions suggests that only industrialized countries present the necessary conditions for the location of the production of exportable technological progress. 2) It follows that the monopoly of the industrialized countries is not temporary but dynamic and self renewing. 3) Free trade, in this case, will only reinforce the negative effects of this monopoly on international specialization and, therefore, reinforce the disparities between industrialized and developing countries. Given the absence of a supranational authority which could intervene against this monopoly, it is appropriate to consider the limits of the bilateral monopoly policy which the developing countries will apply, based on their primary commodities, and the role that OPEC can play in this context.
Champ de spécialisation et revenu
Authors: Lacroix Robert , Robillard Paul , Lemelin Clément
Published: July 2012

An earnings function is defined for the highly qualified manpower in Canada in 1973. Education, experience and field of study, instead of occupation, are the arguments. By use of regression techniques it is shown that the third independent variable adds significantly to the explanation of the variance of earnings.

Even when years of schooling and experience are accounted for, the contribution of the so-called traditional fields of study—medicine, law, accounting and engineering—remains considerable.

The first of the three interpretations suggested refers to different "innate" abilities associated with choice of a field of study but it is promptly dismissed.

The second interpretation deals with differences in work organization leading to either more uncertain flows of earnings or to longer hours of work. It is shown to be plausible in the case of graduates of law schools but it does not hold in the case of graduates of medical schools.

In the latter case a third interpretation is hinted at: medical doctors, either through their association or individually, do exert some significant influence on both the supply of and the demand for their own services.
L’effort consacré à la recherche et au développement : un facteur explicatif de la structure et de l’évolution des exportations de pays industrialisés
Authors: Dulude Louise
Published: July 2012

The aim of this study is to throw some new light on the empirical testing of the technological gap theory. The author studies the structure and growth of the exports of nine industrial countries in sixteen manufactured commodity groups during the 1963-1969 period. While it has been customary in the literature to link a country's export shares to the industries' R and D intensity, a distinction is made in this study between the R and D intensity and effort and it is concluded that a country's export structure and growth should be expressed as a function of its R and D relative effort in the different industries. Some empirical evidence of this new relationship is then given in static and dynamic settings.
Le choix du mode d’occupation sur le marché du logement à Montréal : influence de l’origine ethnique
Authors: Laporte Alain
Published: July 2012

The housing conditions in Montreal are mainly characterized by the two following features: firstly, the high percentage of tenants, secondly, the excessively high proportion of French Canadians in that type of tenure.

In spite of this important disequilibrium, there are few systematic analysis of the economic, demographic or cultural factors explaining such a phenomenon.

The following paper is aimed at filling this gap. The first part deals with theoretical considerations; the second part contains the specification of the model, the method of estimation and the statistical data used for the estimation; the third part analyses the results and brings up the main conclusions.
Quelques aspects de la transmission internationale de l’inflation
Authors: Rabeau Yves
Published: July 2012

In the first section, the impact of a shift in international demand on the price level of a small and open economy is analysed in the framework of the IS and LM diagram and under the assumption of a fixed exchange rate; only short run implications are derived from the analysis. In this keynesian context, it is shown, in particular, that the monetary policy implemented by a large country like the U.S. plays an important role in the assessment of the static short run impact of a change in international demand on the price level of a small country like Canada. In the second section of the paper, it is shown that a dynamic version of a keynesian macro model allows the rate of growth of prices of a small country to converge to the "international rate of inflation". In the last section, longer term issues are discussed in the context of the Scandinavian model of inflation. In particular, it is shown that a country like Canada with large regulated and para-public sectors is quite vulnerable to external inflationary shocks.
Fonctions de production dans l’économie du Québec
Authors: Corbo Vittorio , Dufour Jean-Marie
Published: July 2012

The purpose of this paper is to study the characteristics of the production process in the Quebec economy. We devote particular attention to two features of the technology: the returns to scale and the substitution possibilities.

Two forms of production functions, the Cobb-Douglas and an homothetic translog production function, are estimated for six branches of economic activity. These are: Agriculture; Fishing and Forestry; Mining; Quarying and Oil Wells; Manufacturing; Utilities; Services.

Two main conclusions are derived from this work. First, there is strong evidence of constant returns to scale in all branches of the Quebec economy but services. Second, when comparing the Cobb-Douglas model with an homothetic translog model, the hypothesis that the true model is the Cobb-Douglas one cannot be rejected for five of our six sectors. Therefore, there is evidence that the elasticity of substitution is around one.

Finally a byproduct of our work has been the construction of capital stock series for the Quebec economy (1960-73) disaggregated into 14 sectors, and two types of capital: construction and machinery and equipment.
L’approche séquentielle du déséquilibre dans les modèles de stocks et de flux
Authors: Rouzier Philippe
Published: July 2012

This article is concerned with those aspects of economic policy that are related to macro disequilibrium theory. Central to it is the way by which time enters the latter theory. Clower's dual hypothesis about Keynesian consumption function did not refer to time at all. Clower, Leijonhufvud and Howitt did introduce time in the so-called shopkeeper model, but they neglected the role of stocks. This article suggests the incorporation of buffer stocks in models of general disequilibrium. The method is the one used to endogenize policy reaction functions. Time and stocks are then the two poles around which a consistent view on quantitative economic policy can be formulated.
Le financement du régime de rentes du Québec
Authors: Faille Jacques , Lévesque Robert , Rousseau Henri-Paul
Published: July 2012

The goal of this paper is to present an analysis of the problems raised by the financing of the Quebec Pension Plan. In the first step, we shall try to identify the reasons underlying the financing problem. In the second step, we shall deal with the various financing methods and their impact on the level, the structure and the rate of increase of the contributions to the Plan. Finally, we shall conclude on the financing method which, in our view, should prevail.
Progrès technique augmentant le produit marginal des facteurs et productivité dans l’industrie manufacturière canadienne
Authors: May J. D. , Denny M.
Published: July 2012

The purpose of this paper is to establish a relation between the empirical estimates of productivity and technical change. Few studies have tended to give estimates of that relation. The measuring of productivity involves the use of an implicit production function. Moreover, measures of productivity are estimates of the rates of change of Hicks-neutral technical change.

The paper suggests that non-sophisticated measures of technical change may be replaced since they offer inadequate description of temporal change in technology. Finally, it would be useful to continue to develop econometrics models of technical change.
La théorie économique des choix de carrière : une interprétation et une vérification empirique
Authors: Lemelin Clément , Otis Jean-Claude
Published: July 2012

In their choice of a field of study, students are assumed by the "neoclassical" theory to be rational, well informed, flexible, and to react to changes in monetary variables. Data from a survey are used to show that students are economic men and women only in a weak sense: 1) they appear to be more interested in job availabilities and other job characteristics than in earnings associated with a particular field of study; 2) if their information can be said to be good with respect to forgone earnings and starting earnings of their chosen occupation such is not the case with respect to future earnings; 3) however, their expected rates of return on their studies seem plausible and show all the usual properties of rates of return derived from more conventional computations.
Un modèle de la détermination des salaires dans l’industrie de la construction au Québec
Authors: Assayag Abraham , Rabeau Yves
Published: July 2012

The provincial decree applying to the construction industry in Quebec has created a situation of bilateral monopoly in that segment of the labor market (unions on the supply side and entrepreneurs on the demand side). If negotiations are undertaken at a time where business conditions are booming, then the unions have a very powerful negotiating power. Since contracts are signed for a three year period, wage increases do not afterwards reflect market conditions. Since wages are fixed by the provincial decree, there is then a quantity adjustment in the construction sector. In this paper, we have specified and estimated a model that allows us to measure the bilateral monopoly impact of wage increases and to compute quantity adjustments in the construction market. It is shown then that the provincial decree adversily affects the competition position of the construction industry in Quebec and that restauring this position involves a severe recession in the construction industry.
La configuration des échanges dans un modèle à biens multiples : quelques paradoxes
Authors: Casas F. R.
Published: July 2012

In the framework of a two-good, two-factor model it is evident that the pattern of trade can be inferred from the change in commodity prices resulting from the opening of trade. Thus, if trade increases the relative price of a commodity, we expect that commodity to be exported, while the good whose relative price decreases will be imported.

Under certain circumstances however, it may be possible to observe a country importing a commodity even though its free trade relative price is higher than under autarky.

The purpose of this paper is to point out that a similar paradox can be established even if we rule out distributional effects of changes in commodity prices on the demand for goods attributable to different tastes. In particular, we focus our attention on a simple three-good, two-factor model with fixed production coefficients. It is well known that when the number of goods exceeds the numbers of factors, a basic indeterminacy exists in the relationship between output levels and relative commodity prices. Our interest lies in establishing that one application of this indeterminacy is that technological characteristics—in particular, the factor intensity ranking of commodities and a country's factor endowment—may result in the reversal of the expected pattern of trade.
Un exposé de la théorie du déséquilibre
Authors: Théoret Raymond
Published: July 2012

This paper reviews the principal theories on disequilibrium, from Walras to Barro and Grossman. There is a certain tendency in most of these theories to consider equilibrium and disequilibrium as independent phenomenons: at the end of a disequilibrium period, equilibrium in the neoclassical sense reappears, i.e. a paretian optimum. Disequilibrium is at most an adjustment period. But Glower is opposed to this methodology. Equilibrium periods are very influenced by preceding disequilibrium periods. For example, Clower considers unemployment as a situation of equilibrium. This is a nonsense for a neoclassical economist for whom equilibrium is an ideal state. Clower attacks veritably the traditional economic analysis which attributes to the equilibrium of perfect competition certain ideal properties. Finally, we emphasize that the theory of disequilibrium may arrive to explain stagflation.
L’incidence de la rente publique sur l’épargne privée : un survol de la littérature théorique et empirique
Authors: Rousseau Henri-Paul
Published: July 2012

This paper provides a survey of the literature on the effect of public pension funds on private savings. Both theoretical and empirical studies are discussed within a simple theoretical frame-work. The survey concludes that private saving is probably negatively influenced by public pension funds but that the magnitude of the effect is uncertain.
Le débat Samuelson-Lerner et les régimes de retraite publics
Authors: Ascah Louis
Published: July 2012

This article reviews the Samuelson-Lerner debate and its implications for the design of public pension plans. Pay-as-you-go public pension plans can provide a fictitious rate of interest equal to the rate of growth of the economy. The conclusion that pay-as-you-go financing provides greater welfare than a funded plan when the rate of growth is greater than the rate of return and vice-versa holds only in a steady state and pension policy should not be based on artificial worlds which can never exist.
Un résumé des lignes de force du système monétaire international actuel
Authors: Leroy Vély
Published: July 2012

In this paper the author outlines the forces underlying the present international monetary system. Since creation, in Bretton Woods, of the International Monetary Fund, two important amendments have been brought to the statutes of this institution. First, in July 1969, a Special Drawing mechanism was created; second, following the April 1978 amendment, the Special Drawing Right system is no longer based on gold. The fundamental reasons for this evolution and the problems raised by the present situation are emphasized.
Quelques enseignements récents de la réforme du système monétaire international
Authors: Decaluwé Bernard
Published: July 2012

It is now recognized that a viable international monetary system must rest on a combination of only two of the following three principles: (1) respect of the national economic policies, (2) free convertibility of currencies, (3) fixed parities with gold and the dollar. The author emphasizes some arguments against flexible exchange rates. He concludes that the present international monetary system has resolved the fundamental ambiguity of the Bretton Woods system by permitting flexibility of exchange rates.
Le Fonds monétaire international, la réforme monétaire et le Tiers-Monde
Authors: Cameron Duncan
Published: July 2012

A second series of amendments to the Bretton Woods charter has recently been approved by the IMF Board of Directors. This article provides a commentary on the negotiations leading up to this reform and attaches particular importance to those aspects which concern the Third World. The article analyzes the nature of the IMF and the role that it has played within the international community, before examining the reform proposals and the failure to satisfy the limited aspirations of the Third World countries. The principal topics considered include: the link between development finance and international monetary reform, the propositions studied by the Committee of Twenty, and the decisions taken by the Interim Committee at Jamaica in 1976.
Le calcul économique de la publicité frauduleuse
Authors: Boyer Marcel , Kihlstrom Richard , Laffont Jean-Jacques
Published: July 2012

The objectif of this paper is to give a microeconomic foundation to misleading advertising in order to derive a method to evaluate its social costs both in terms of efficiency and in terms of distribution. We develop first the approach leading to the concept of demand based on information biased by misleading advertising. Then we set up a model leading to an analytical form of the demand function for the different agents and we discuss the econometric problem of estimating it. We can then develop a formula to measure the social costs of misleading advertising. Finally, we show through an example how that formula can be used.
Diversion et création d’échanges commerciaux dans le cadre du système canadien de préférences tarifaires
Authors: Ahmad Jaleel
Published: July 2012

This paper explores in quantitative terms the potential effects on trade flows as a result of Canadian tariff preferences in favor of the developing countries instituted in 1974. The paper develops a model of trade creation and trade diversion due to preferences based on imperfect substitution, within each product category, between preference-granting, preference-receiving and non-preferred countries. This model depart from the usual assumption of the customs union theory that countries trade in perfect substitutes. The model is then applied to the 1978 trade date under BTN chapters 25 - 99 on a 4-digit classification. One major conclusion of the paper is that the assumption of perfect substitution tends to overstate the magnitude of trade creation and trade diversion, while the method based on less than perfect substitutability seems to offer more realistic estimates of the actual impact of trade preferences.