C.D. Howe Institute

The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Widely considered to be Canada's most influential think tank, the Institute is a trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review.

Most Recent Articles by C.D. Howe Institute:

Quantity versus Quality: Solutions to Canada’s Falling PISA Scores June 18, 2014
The latest round of PISA tests assessed 500,000 students in 60 countries at age 15
Falling PISA Grades Should Worry Provincial Educators: C.D. Howe Institute June 11, 2014
Every province experienced a statistically significant decline in at least one subject
Doing Less with More: Why Quebec Lags in Access to Doctors May 27, 2014
Physician buy-in and a willingness to provide more primary care in the community as opposed to hospitals are key ingredients of a successful transition."
Cross Border Price Regulation: Anti-Competition Policy? May 8, 2014
Report of the C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council
Why Canadians Pay More than Americans for the Same Goods May 6, 2014
Government tariffs, supply management
Time to Rethink Canada’s Foreign Worker Program: C.D. Howe Institute April 24, 2014
Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada: Are They Really Filling Labour Shortages?
Optimizing Economic Diplomacy on a Tight Budget April 16, 2014
Global Market Action Plan
C.D. Howe Institute’s Bill Robson Issues Statement on the Death of Jim Flaherty April 10, 2014
His death deprives Canada of an outstanding political and economic leader
Ottawa’s Swelling Hidden Pension Deficit Adds $120 Billion to Federal Debt April 9, 2014
"Using an economically meaningful fair market value estimate, Ottawa's unfunded liability at the end of the 2013 fiscal year was some $120 billion higher than reported,"
Unequal Pay for Equal Work: Fixing Ottawa’s Pay Problem: C.D. Howe Institute April 2, 2014
Defined-benefit pension plans
Blown Budgets: Canada’s 2013 Fiscal Accountability Rankings March 24, 2014
Alberta and Saskatchewan showed the biggest overshoots among the provinces
The Real Problem with Public-Sector Pension Plans March 19, 2014
"The problem is not with the defined-benefit plans per se, it relates to the mispricing of their guarantees"
Ontario Should Consider the Merits of the “Middle-Way” to Pension Reform March 11, 2014
General agreement has emerged that Canada has a pension coverage problem
Canada’s Vulnerability to Potential Eurozone Turmoil March 5, 2014
Clearly, US shocks dominate, but eurozone shocks cannot be ignored
Needless Duplication of Registration Requirements Hinders Business Expansion across Canada February 25, 2014
The goal of achieving pan-Canadian harmonization has remained elusive
The False Security of Complex Financial Regulation - and What to Do About It February 19, 2014
Shareholder Liability: A New (Old) Way of Thinking about Financial Regulation
Missed Inflation Targets and the Case for Price-Level Targeting February 5, 2014
Price-level targeting is an alternative that offers potential advantages over inflation targeting
Controlling Ottawa’s Employment Costs Key to Achieving Durable Surplus: Shadow Budget 2014 January 29, 2014
The 2014 edition of the C.D. Howe Institute's annual Shadow Federal Budget reinforces Ottawa's near-term focus on budgetary surplus
How to Lower the High Cost of Flying January 22, 2014
Federal government policies are a major cause of high costs throughout the aviation supply chain
Report Shows Cities with Best and Worst Fiscal Accountability January 15, 2014
"This record suggests that cities have tended to over-charge up-front for capital projects."
Service Exports Help Drive Growth in Well-paying Jobs January 9, 2014
Schwanen warns a policy to deliberately talk down the Canadian dollar as a way to help Canadian manufacturing jobs could be counter-productive
Investors from US, Mexico to Benefit from Canada-EU Trade Deal December 19, 2013
The increased review threshold will apply equally to investors from the US and Mexico as it does to investors from the European Union
Low Investment Returns Expected to Squeeze Retirees, Pension Plans December 11, 2013
Long-Term Returns: a Reality Check for Pension Funds and Retirement Savers
Making Canada’s Foreign Aid Work: Lessons from the Bangladesh Tragedy November 27, 2013
Recommends three development-aid tactics to address weak host-country governance
Time to Focus on Patient Use of “Outside” Doctors for Primary Care - C.D. Howe Institute November 19, 2013
"Ontario's healthcare system could realize better value-for-money were fewer patients to seek such outside care,"
Who Benefits Most from Billions in Postsecondary Tax Credits? Not Low-Income Families November 13, 2013
Canada's federal and provincial governments spend a lot of money subsidizing postsecondary students
Canada Lagging Peers in 2013 Business Investment Growth: C.D. Howe Institute November 6, 2013
Changes in tax and regulatory policies can help move lagging provinces and Canada as a whole back to a leading position
Business Property Taxes Bite into New Investment October 16, 2013
Before a business makes a new investment in a locality, it must know the tax burden it faces
Weighing the Impact of High Frequency Trading on Capital Markets October 10, 2013
Flash Crashes
How to Escape Ontario’s Power Sector Morass September 18, 2013
The government should establish a market that sends transparent and effective price signals of the need for new electricity generation capacity