Thursday, February 27, 2014 – In Canada, the current balance between compulsory and private savings is effective in meeting a clear goal, namely reducing poverty among retired people. Canada stands out among industrialized countries with a poverty rate among seniors that is lower than the average and lower than the poverty rate for the Canadian population as a whole.

Montreal, Thursday, February 20, 2014 – As it does every year when Quebec’s provincial budget is tabled, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) has updated its debt clock. According to our estimates, the public sector debt now stands at $264.2 billion. This is more than $62,090 per taxpayer and 72.5% of GDP.

Montréal, le vendredi 14 février 2014 – Selon l’Institut économique de Montréal, la décision du gouvernement Marois d’aller de l’avant dans l’exploration du pétrole sur l’île d’Anticosti est une très bonne nouvelle car il est grand temps que les Québécois aient l’heure juste sur les richesses pétrolières potentielles qui pourraient y être enfouies.

Montreal, Wednesday, January 22, 2014 – At the end of 2013, Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau announced a deficit of $2.5 billion for 2013 and $1.75 billion in 2014-15. In order to achieve a balanced budget, the temptation might be to increase taxes on certain products deemed to be harmful like alcohol or tobacco. But in fact, far from being the miracle solution to budgetary and public health problems, sin taxes often have unwanted consequences, according to a new Economic Note published today.

Montreal, Wednesday, January 15, 2014 – Bitcoin digital currency is attracting increasing attention from Internet users, retailers, researchers, central banks, and of course, speculators. Since its launch in 2009, the value of a bitcoin has fluctuated considerably, reaching a peak of over a thousand US dollars in the fall of 2013 before dropping back down in the month of December. Is Bitcoin here to stay and become an integral part of our economic lives? The Montreal Economic Institute presents some of the answers in a new Economic Note published today.

Montreal, Tuesday, December 17, 2013 — The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) has awarded its two annual economic education prizes, each including a $3,000 grant, to George Jonas, bestselling author and National Post columnist, and Joanne Marcotte, author, documentary filmmaker and blogger.

Montreal, December 5, 2013 – Contrary to the alarmist declarations of Health Minister Réjean Hébert, who worries about the “hemorrhaging” of doctors to private clinics, these physicians actually represent a mere 1.38% of all doctors in Quebec. This is one of the bits of information contained in the new Economic Note published today by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), based on official statistics as well as original field research.

Montreal, Tuesday, November 19, 2013 – In just a few decades, Hong Kong has hoisted itself up among the wealthiest economies in the world. A veritable doorway to China and the rest of Asia for foreign investors, it owes its success to the application of the basic principles of capitalism, says the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) in a new Economic Note published today.

Montreal, November 13, 2013 – In reaction to the recent publication of a report by the Pembina Institute and Équiterre on the development of the oilsands and their impact on the Canadian economy, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) reminds us that the green energy “investments” called for by these organizations are actually expenses, since the forms of energy in question are not cost-effective.

Montreal, Thursday, November 7, 2013 – Contrary to the myth of staffing agencies in Canada taking advantage of workers’ lack of job security to rake in the profits, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) has shown that this industry plays a vital role in facilitating the integration of the unemployed in general, and immigrants in particular, into the labour market.