Volume 50, Number 4, octobre–décembre 1974

EN:

Tertiary activity is rapidly growing in all industrialized nations: it already accounts for almost two third of Canada's (and Québec's) total production and employment. It thus becomes increasingly reasonable to think that many service activities are becoming autonomous agents of economic growth rather than simply being induced (non-basic) activities as is generally postulated in classical regional development models. This paper discusses in what manner certain services might be involved in the growth process, and particularly how we might identify and measure them. The framework of the paper is regional rather than national growth since it is felt that it is on the regional level that the growth impact of the service sector is most easily discernible. We propose a largely conceptual model of the regional growth impact of service activities. The model leans heavily on certain theories prevalent in regional economics, especially export-base theory and central place theory. The main problem, we observe, as in all impact models, is not measuring short-run impacts but rather that of measuring long-run dynamic impacts.

EN:

This paper explores the relationship between the structural models and different trade indices which can be used to quantify Quebec and other Canadian regions export sector. An attempt is made to measure the degrees of specialization of exports for fifty goods, the interprovincial and international export intensity indices for the five Canadian regions, and the export performance indices for the provinces under study. The conclusion highlights the importance of the east-west Canadian trade, specially for the internal provinces. Finally, the Quebec commercial characteristics in relation with those of other Canadian provinces (and the need to take them into account when formulating a federal trade policy) are outlined and stressed.

EN:

In this paper, the author describes some views that economists have of the problems of criminology together with the means accessible to them by which they attempt to answer certain interesting questions. Sketches of the economic arguments which are challenging a dominant view of the theory of criminal law and challenging as well the concept of "rehabilitation" are presented. The author proposes to review, briefly, the arguments for a systems approach and to outline new "industry" approaches to criminology problems. Finally, he tries to demonstrate why many traditional criminology studies are obsolete and he indicates in passing, the reason why the displacing of crime in time is a social benefit.

EN:

This paper discusses guaranteed annual income (GAI) as a mean of income redistribution and an alternative to current income security programs, with an emphasis on some basic facts commonly overlooked in recent debates.

In the first part, GAI is shown to be, conceptually and technically, a logical evolution rather than a revolution considering the current income security program.

In the second part, we show that the cost of income security programs must essentially be related to the amount of "net transfers". As a consequence, GAI programs will be costlier than the present system, because they require greater net transfers.

In the third part, given a distribution of families by level of income, we show that the rate of decrease of poverty through any GAI program depends on the relative values of both the arbitrarily chosen poverty threshold and on the selected breaking point of "zero net transfer". Finally, rules are established pertaining to the effect of various GAI programs on poverty.

EN:

The purpose of this text is to examine how federal and Quebec provincial income tax policies have affected real disposable income of taxpayers in the context of the rapid inflation of the last five years. It finds that the net effect of federal fiscal reform since 1970 has been to make the tax structure more progressive. Low-income taxpayers have benefitted from lower tax rates in real terms but real tax rates have risen for those with incomes above approximately $14,000. On the provincial level, on the other hand, there has been virtually no change in the tax structure except for an increase in the threshold level below which no tax is paid. All, except the very poorest taxpayers (single persons earning less than $2,578 in 1970 or $3,200 in 1974 and married couples with two children earning less than $5,200 in 1970 or $6,300 in 1974), have paid higher taxes in real terms every year from 1970 to 1974. This is true even when provincial family allowances (which the province considers as a tax credit and as a substitute for personal exemptions for children under 16) are deducted from provincial income tax.

The net result of federal and provincial tax policies, family allowance payments and deductions for various social security programs is as follows: real disposable income increased for single persons earning less than $4,000 in 1970 ($5,000 in 1974) and for two-children families earning less than $8,000 ($10,000 in 1974); it stayed about the same for single persons earning between $4,000 and $6,000 ($5,000 to $7,500 in 1974) and families earning $8,000 to $10,000 ($10,000 to $12,500 in 1974) in 1970; it fell for those with higher levels of income.