Montreal, May 25, 2009 – An essay titled Manifesto for a Competitive Social Democracy by Marcel Boyer, vice president and chief economist of the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), says globalization of markets makes it necessary to revitalize social democracy, redefining the roles of governmental and competitive sectors.

Montreal, May 6, 2009 – In a Viewpoint published by the Montreal Economic Institute, economist David Descôteaux determines that gross debt as of March 31, 2009, stood at $151.4 billion, or 49.9% of the province’s annual GDP. Quebec’s debt, already above the Canadian average, has started going up again after several years under control. Quebec government spending is on the rise because of growing program costs. Can Quebec’s government finances hold up without unduly raising the debt?

Montreal, May 1, 2009 – Michel Kelly-Gagnon, president and chief executive of the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), is one of six people from Quebec honoured in the Canada’s Top 40 Under 40™ awards. The winners were chosen from among 1,100 nominees by an independent selection committee made up of 25 leaders from the business world across Canada. The selection criteria were: vision and leadership, innovation and results, impact, community commitment, and business strategy.

Montreal, April 22, 2009 – Quebec could reduce waiting lists for medical specialists and maximize their supply of available hours if they were allowed to work both in the public sector and in the private sector, and this would add the equivalent of 790 full-time medical specialists on weekdays.

Montreal, March 20, 2009 – We often hear that the Republican presidency of George W. Bush was characterized by a reduction in the size of government and that this is a classic example of the failure of laissez-faire economics. However, a simple examination of spending by the United States Government during the eight years of the Bush administration (see the Figures and Table on the Institute’s website) shows clearly that this is a huge myth, far removed from reality.

Montreal, March 16, 2009 – According to an Angus Reid poll commissioned by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), 56% of Quebecers want the government, in a context of economic crisis and lower revenues, to balance its finances by reducing the number of civil servants. Only 7% favour higher fees for public services.

Montreal, March 6, 2009 – It was not lack of regulation that led to the economic crisis but rather the harmful effects of government intervention. In an Economic Note titled The Origins of the Economic Crisis, published by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), economist Pierre Lemieux explains that “the current turmoil points more to government failure than to market failure.”

Montreal, February 3, 2009 – By privatizing Hydro-Québec, Quebecers would get $10 billion more out of it per year through improved productivity, higher electricity rates and an end to costly subsidy programs for aluminum smelters, according to a Research Paper published by the Montreal Economic Institute. The new private company would be required to pay substantial annual royalties to the government, says the study, prepared by Claude Garcia, member of the board of directors of several corporations and former president of the Canadian operations of Standard Life.

Montreal, January 22, 2009 – Nathalie Elgrably-Lévy is returning to the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) as a senior economist. Well known for her weekly columns in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec and as an economist with the MEI from 2005 to 2008, she has worked since last summer as a senior economist with the Fraser Institute. At the MEI, starting now, she will analyze public policies at the local and international levels, assessing their effectiveness and bringing out the related socio-economic issues. Her research and analyses will be published by the MEI and will be available on our website.

Montreal, December 12, 2008 – The Montreal Economic Institute has issued two economic education prizes, worth $3,000 each, to Martin Jolicoeur, a journalist with the weekly newspaper Les Affaires, and to Sean Silcoff, a freelance journalist who, until recently, was a columnist and Montreal correspondent with the National Post.