Tuesday, September 18, 2012 – As a part of the Montreal Economic Institute’s research program on the various health care systems offering universal coverage, its vice president Jasmin Guénette visited Switzerland to see how health care is delivered there. From the testimony of patients, doctors and administrators, we discover a health care system at the cutting edge of technology based on solidarity and freedom of choice in which waiting lists are not even a preoccupation.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012 – On the eve of an eagerly anticipated decision from the CRTC regarding the regulation of wireless services in Canada, it is important to have a clear understanding of the situation. Contrary to what is sometimes claimed, the Canadian wireless industry is doing well compared to other countries based on various international rankings.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012 – Canadian buyers are not the only ones paying the price for a supply management system that costs them around $3.9 billion a year. A new study from the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) signed by Mario Dumais shows that producers themselves are shackled by a vast network of 80 agricultural marketing boards that hold a monopoly on marketing and that, in certain cases, restrict production.

Thursday, July 19, 2012 – The CBC president’s recent declaration that “Canadian content and culture would be the single ‘biggest failed promise’ of a purely free market broadcast model” represents a point of view that should guide the revision of the crown corporation’s mandate. Indeed, this mandate, which has not been altered for at least two decades, needs to be updated in order to clearly reflect this mission, according to the author of a new publication by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).

Thursday, June 28, 2012 – The number of notices of prescription drug supply disruptions in Quebec has risen considerably in recent years, from 33 in 2006 to 207 in 2010. The multiplication of cases of drug shortages coincides with provincial governments’ continued lowering of the price caps for generic drugs, according to an Economic Note published today by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).

Friday, June 15, 2012 – A recent Forum Research poll revealed that Montrealers, who have just finished paying this year’s $2.9 billion in municipal taxes, are dissatisfied with their municipal services. And yet, municipal employees enjoy generous working conditions that are well above average. In fact, they work five fewer weeks a year than employees of large private corporations, and their total remuneration is $11,000 higher, according to an Economic Note published today by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).

Tuesday, May 29, 2012 – Quebec has been receiving equalization payments since the program was set up back in 1957. This year, $15 billion will be transferred to Canada’s poorer provinces. In an Economic Note published today, Youri Chassin, economist at the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), explains how receiving provinces could be further encouraged to enrich themselves and to stop relying on these transfers. The author is particularly interested in how natural resources are treated in the calculation of equalization payments.

Thursday, May 17, 2012 – Both the director general of the McGill University Health Centre and the Quebec Association of Health and Social Services Institutions have come out in favour of activity-based hospital funding. Indeed, the chronic problem of health care waiting lists is partly rooted in hospitals’ funding models. The MEI’s new Economic Note points out that activity-based funding could help improve access and reduce wait times in Canada, as it has already done in several countries.

OTTAWA, Wednesday, May 9, 2012 – An informal coalition of six not-for-profit and think tank organizations have agreed the issue of federal transfers to the provinces needs to be placed firmly on the national agenda.

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 – A number of studies and organizations have pointed out lately that income inequality in this country is on the rise. But who has pointed out the fact that the poor are actually getting richer? On the occasion of International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, the Montreal Economic Institute’s Yanick Labrie shines a light on five reasons why income inequality is less worrisome than it appears to be, in an Economic Note published today.

1. Income growth for the poor