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A Faster Track to Fiscal Balance: The 2011 Shadow Budget

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandre Laurin

    (C.D. Howe Institute)

  • William B.P. Robson

    (C.D. Howe Institute)

Abstract

The Commentary released today its 2011 federal Shadow Budget with a five-step plan to end the flow of red ink in Ottawa ahead of the government’s five-year timeline. In this paper, the authors show how Ottawa can return to budget surpluses in four years through more ambitious spending restraint and accelerate growth-friendly fiscal reforms. This faster track to budget surplus, say the authors, will position the federal government to launch new tax and spending initiatives around mid-decade, while protecting Canadians from possible debt-market disruptions arising from sovereign-debt concerns, and putting federal debt back on a downward track before the pressure of population aging on government finances intensifies.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandre Laurin & William B.P. Robson, 2011. "A Faster Track to Fiscal Balance: The 2011 Shadow Budget," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 320, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdh:commen:320
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    File URL: https://www.cdhowe.org/faster-track-fiscal-balance-2011-shadow-budget
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Duanjie Chen & Jack M. Mintz, 2009. "The Path to Prosperity: Internationally Competitive Rates and a Level Playing Field," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 295, September.
    2. Pierre Siklos & Andrew Spence, 2010. "Faceoff: Should the Bank of Canada Release its Projections of the Interest Rate Path? – The Cases For and Against," C.D. Howe Institute Backgrounder, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 134, October.
    3. Kevin D. Moore & William Robson & Alexandre Laurin, 2010. "Canada’s Looming Retirement Challenge: Will Future Retirees Be Able to Maintain Their Living Standards upon Retirement?," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 317, December.
    4. William B.P. Robson & Colin Busby, 2010. "Freeing up Food: The Ongoing Cost, and Potential Reform, of Supply Management," C.D. Howe Institute Backgrounder, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 128, April.
    5. Smith, Constance & Landon, Stuart, 2010. "Government Revenue Volatility in Alberta," Working Papers 2010-10, University of Alberta, Department of Economics.
    6. Alexandre Laurin & William Robson, 2010. "The Public-Sector Pension Bubble: Time to Confront the Unmeasured Cost of Ottawa's Pensions," e-briefs 108, C.D. Howe Institute.
    7. Clyde Goodlet, 2010. "Too Big to Fail: A Misguided Policy in Times of Financial Turmoil," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 311, October.
    8. Finn Poschmann, 2011. "What Governments Should Do in Mortgage Markets," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 318, January.
    9. David Longworth, 2010. "Warding Off Financial Market Failure: How to Avoid Squeezed Margins and Bad Haircuts," C.D. Howe Institute Backgrounder, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 135, December.
    10. Stuart Landon & Constance Smith, 2010. "Energy Prices and Alberta Government Revenue Volatility," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 313, November.
    11. Colin Busby & William B.P. Robson, 2010. "Disarmed and Disadvantaged: Canada’s Workers Need More Physical Capital to Confront the Productivity Challenge," e-briefs 107, C.D. Howe Institute.
    12. Philippe Bergevin & David Laidler, 2010. "Putting Money Back into Monetary Policy: A Monetary Anchor for Price and Financial Stability," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 312, October.
    13. Christian Calmes & Raymond Theoret, 2011. "Lifting the Veil: Regulation and Shadow Banking," e-briefs 110, C.D. Howe Institute.
    14. Alexandre Laurin & William B.P. Robson & Colin Busby & Finn Poschmann, 2010. "Back to Balance: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2010," C.D. Howe Institute Backgrounder, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 127, February.
    15. William B.P. Robson, 2010. "The Glacier Grinds Closer: How Demographics Will Change Canada’s Fiscal Landscape," e-briefs 106, C.D. Howe Institute.
    16. Angelo Melino, 2011. "Moving Monetary Policy Forward: Why Small Steps - and a Lower Inflation Target - Make Sense for the Bank of Canada," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 319, January.
    17. Jotham Peters & Chris Bataille & Nic Rivers & Mark Jaccard, 2010. "Taxing Emissions, Not Income: How to Moderate the Regional Impact of Federal Environment Policy," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 314, November.
    18. David C. Allan & Philippe Bergevin, 2010. "The Canadian ABS Market: Where Do We Go From Here?," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 315, November.
    19. Bob Baldwin & Brian FitzGerald, 2010. "Seeking Certainty in Uncertain Times: A Review of Recent Government-Sponsored Studies on the Regulation of Canadian Pension Plans," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 310, September.
    20. John Richards, 2011. "School Dropouts: Who Are They and What Can Be Done?," e-briefs 109, C.D. Howe Institute.
    21. Andrew Green & Michael Trebilcock, 2010. "The Eco-Fee Imbroglio: Lessons from Ontario’s Troubled Experiment in Charging for Waste Management," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 316, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Steve E. Hrudey, 2011. "Safe Drinking Water Policy for Canada - Turning Hindsight into Foresight," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 323, February.
    2. Philippe Bergevin & William B.P. Robson, 2011. "The Costs of Inflexible Indexing: Avoiding the Adverse Fiscal Impacts of Lower Inflation," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 322, February.
    3. Colin Busby & William B.P. Robson, 2011. "A Social Insurance Model for Pharmacare: Ontario's Options for a More Sustainable, Cost-Effective Drug Program," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 326, April.
    4. Bev Dahlby & Ergete Ferede, 2011. "What Does it Cost Society to Raise a Dollar of Tax Revenue? The Marginal Cost of Public Funds," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 324, March.
    5. David A. Dodge & Richard Dion, 2011. "Chronic Healthcare Spending Disease: A Macro Diagnosis and Prognosis," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 327, April.
    6. Alexandre Laurin & Finn Poschmann & William B.P. Robson, 2011. "When Striking an Awkward Balance Means Striking Out: Budget 2011," e-briefs 112, C.D. Howe Institute.
    7. Pierre Fortin, 2011. "Staying the Course: Quebec's Fiscal Balance Challenge," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 325, March.
    8. Christopher Ragan, 2011. "Precision Targeting: The Economics – and Politics – of Improving Canada’s Inflation-Targeting Framework," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 321, February.
    9. James P. Bruce, 2011. "Protecting Groundwater: The Invisible and Vital Resource," C.D. Howe Institute Backgrounder, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 136, February.
    10. John Richards, 2011. "Aboriginal Education in Quebec: A Benchmarking Exercise," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 328, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal Policy; Canada; federal budget; shadow budget;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H60 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - General

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