The issue of productivity and the related issue of innovation continue to be high on the public policy agenda. Policymakers are particularly interested in the social aspects of productivity. In The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress, 2002, the second issue of a new annual, authors examine the two-way linkages between productivity and various measures of social progress in Canada. Papers in the volume fall into two main themes: the effects of productivity on social progress indicators and the social determinants of productivity.


A State of Minds

by Thomas J. Courchene

Published 1 January 2001
What happens when the world changes in ways that make Canada's physical capital, natural resources, and geography - once the ultimate competitive advantages - less important than knowledge, information, technological know-how, and human capital? What happens to Canadians? In A State of Minds Thomas Courchene examines the political structures that link local, provincial, and federal governments and challenges many longstanding beliefs about how society should be organized and financed. While focusing on Canadian competitiveness in a global economy, Courchene shows us how an open federal state like Canada can achieve both economic prosperity and social justice. Always provocative, Courchene blends compelling analysis and reasoned insight with a prescription for change: To stay ahead of the competitive curve and protect the Canadian way of life, Canada must become a "state of minds."