Comparing Quebec and Ontario : Political Economy and Public Policy at the Turn of the Millennium

Can subunits within a capitalist democracy, even a relatively decentralized one like Canada, pursue fundamentally different social and economic policies? Is their ability to do so less now than it was before the advent of globalization? In Comparing Quebec and Ontario, Rodney Haddow brings these questions and the tools of comparative political economy to bear on the growing public policy divide between Ontario and Quebec. Combining narrative case studies with rigorous quantitative analysis, Haddow analyses how budgeting, economic development, social assistance, and childcare policies differ between the two provinces. The cause of the divide, he argues, is underlying differences in their political-economic institutions. An important contribution to ongoing debates about globalization's "golden straitjacket," Comparing Quebec and Ontario is an essential resource for understanding Canadian political economy.

Can sub-units within a capitalist democracy, even a relatively decentralized one like Canada, pursue fundamentally different social and economic policies? Is their ability to do so less now than it was before the advent of globalization? In Comparing Quebec and Ontario, Rodney Haddow brings these questions and the tools of comparative political economy to bear on the growing public policy divide between Ontario and Quebec.

Combining narrative case studies with rigorous quantitative analysis, Haddow analyses how budgeting, economic development, social assistance, and child care policies differ between the two provinces. The cause of the divide, he argues, are underlying differences between their political and economic institutions.

An important contribution to ongoing debates about globalization’s “golden straightjacket,” Comparing Quebec and Ontario is an essential resource for understanding Canadian political economy.

Contents 5 Acknowledgments 7 COMPARING QUEBEC AND ONTARIO. Political Economy and Public Policy at the Turn of the Millennium 9 1. How Do Advanced Political Economies Differ? Why Does It Matter? 11 2. Typing Provinces: The Political Economies of Ontario and Quebec 36 3. Budgeting: Why Some Tax and Spend More Than Others, and How 71 4. Social Assistance and Transfers: Redistributing, but Differently 107 5. Childcare and Early Learning: Can the Residual Mould Be Broken? 139 6. Economic Development: Can States Still Intervene? 171 7. Quantitative Evidence (1): Comparing Policy “Effort” 205 8. Quantitative Evidence (2): Comparing Redistributive Outcomes 246 Conclusion: How Large and Durable Are These Differences? 270 Notes 295 Index 377 In Comparing Quebec and Ontario , Rodney Haddow analyses how budgeting, economic development, social assistance, and child care policies differ between the two provinces. The cause of the differences, he argues, are underlying differences between their political economic institutions.