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Politiques régionales: traitement du malade ou maladie du guérissaur?
Author(s) -
Migué JeanLuc
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
canadian public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.361
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1754-7121
pISSN - 0008-4840
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-7121.1978.tb01761.x
Subject(s) - economics , labour economics , legislation , population , unemployment , subsidy , productivity , inequality , redistribution (election) , welfare economics , demographic economics , economic growth , market economy , political science , politics , mathematical analysis , demography , mathematics , sociology , law
. The author develops three main propositions on regional inequalities and related policies. First, regional inequalities of incomes and salaries do not originate from differences in productivity but the other way round. Low productivity results from low wages, which are in turn rooted in conditions of overpopulation in certain areas. As for differences in unemployment levels, they are brought about by government‐determined barriers to the smooth adaptation of labour supply to demand conditions, including minimum wage legislation, union power and job licensing legislated by governments (Rand formula, closed corporations). Second proposition: Regional policies, of which DREE'S activities are only a part, have had minimal effects on the redistribution of investments and employment between the various regions. In addition such poor results as have been achieved represent a heavy burden on taxpayers, as well as on workers through the misallocation of capital. Finally, in addition to being inefficient, policies with strong regional incidences do exert a real wealth transfer effect. This is the basis for their adoption, given the institutional setting in which the public sector operates. The benefits of regional subsidies are concentrated in the hands of a small number of individuals in outlying areas, whereas the burden is thinly & on the whole of the Canadian (or provincial) population. Each beneficiary has more to gain from these measures than each loser stands to lose.