Never before in the history of humanity has there been as rapid an increase in longevity as there was during the 20th century. In industrialized countries, life expectancy at birth has risen from an average of about 50 years in 1900 to a little over 80 years today. A growing number of people can now live not only longer but also healthier than ever before. Indeed, substantial gains in terms of quality-adjusted life expectancy have been recorded for decades in many countries.

Eleven years ago, a government was elected in Quebec by promising to re-examine the functioning of the state and diminish the tax burden of individual Quebecers. However, between the fiscal years 2003-2004 and 2013-2014, the size of the provincial government continued to grow relative to the economy. Indeed, during this period, the Quebec economy grew by 39.6% while public spending increased by 66.9% and revenue by 65.6%. What would have happened if the growth of public spending had been limited to the same rate as economic growth during these ten years?

In order for Bitcoin to develop and grow, its legal status will have to be clarified. As it happens, this digital currency is attracting more and more attention from governments around the world. Several of them are currently studying the phenomenon in order to better understand it and find ways of regulating its use. This Economic Note presents an analysis of the situation in Canada and in other countries that have adopted regulatory frameworks for Bitcoin.

Many activist groups, and even certain political actors, maintain that the Canadian oil industry is heavily subsidized. The Montreal Economic Institute looked into the matter and carried out a rigorous examination of the studies on which this notion is based. In this Economic Note, the MEI concludes that the subsidies in question are far from being as generous as these studies claim, and moreover that the largest of the subsidy programs will disappear between now and January 1st, 2016.

To the detriment of consumers across the country, the federal government has been encouraging artificial competition in the telecommunications industry for the past seven years. Fixated on the goal of promoting the emergence of a fourth wireless carrier in each of Canada's regional markets, the government has lost sight of the ultimate goal of promoting the development of a dynamic, efficient industry, according to this Research Paper.

Because 75% of Canada's population lives only 90 minutes from the U. S. border, many regional Canadian airports are in direct competition with their northern American counterparts. This geographical proximity means that airfare prices have become one of the biggest competitive advantages of airports in the quest to attract more passengers. This Viewpoint explains why taxes, fees and charges increase the prices of airfares and make Canadian airports less competitive in relation to American airports.

There are some especially important lessons to be drawn from the experiences of Germany, England, Denmark, France and Italy, all countries whose health care systems are based on the principle of universal care. In this publication, the MEI is proposing six concrete ideas for reforming Quebec's health care system that are inspired by the experience of these countries. These reform proposals, which are all interrelated, would likely lead to substantial improvements both to the quality of care provided to patients and to their access to that care.

This booklet proposes 40 basic questions people might have about Canada's energy sector and gives them answers which are relatively short, factual, easy to understand, and supported by official sources. They cover as many subjects as possible, in addition to offering information on the energy situation of the various parts of the country.

Do Canadians save enough for retirement? What is the government's responsibility in the matter? All across Canada, these questions have taken centre stage over the past year. Several major public plan reform proposals are being discussed. They all begin with the same observation, that people are not saving enough for retirement, and they all propose similar solutions based on mandatory saving. This Economic Note asks if the diagnosis is correct, and if the proposed solutions are adequate.

Over the last five years, the MEI has published an annual Viewpoint on Quebec government debt on budget day. Continuing the tradition, this Viewpoint also explores what has been accomplished up to now to reduce the deficit and return ultimately to balanced budgets. What happened to cause this target to be missed? Which commitments were respected, and which ones were not? Was it revenue that failed to rise enough, or was it spending that grew more quickly than expected?