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Closing the 49th Parallel: An Unexplored Episode in Canadian Economic and Political History

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Author Info
James B. Davies (University of Western Ontario)
Stanley L. Winer (Carleton University)

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Abstract

We draw attention to, and begin to consider the implications of the severe restrictions on emigration by Canadians to the United States introduced under the U.S. Immigration Act of 1965. These restrictions came into effect in 1968 and lasted until mobility began to increase under the free trade agreements in the early 1990's. This is an unusual episode in Canadian history, one whose implications for public policy have received little attention. The near closing of the border during this period likely led to a decrease in the elasticity of labour supply in Canada. We derive the implications of such a change in a competitive political model where the political costs and benefits of levying taxes on different activities are distinguished. Increased reliance on, and changes in the structure of, labour income taxes, and an increase in the size of the public sector are predicted. We show that these predictions are consistent with what occurred over the two decades after the near closing of the U.S. border.

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Paper provided by University of Western Ontario, RBC Financial Group Economic Policy Research Institute in its series University of Western Ontario, RBC Financial Group Economic Policy Research Institute Working Papers with number 20083.

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Date of creation: 2008
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Handle: RePEc:uwo:epuwoc:20083

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Postal: RBC Financial Group Economic Policy Research Institute, Social Science Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2
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  1. Stanley Winer & Michael Tofias & Bernard Grofman & John Aldrich, 2008. "Trending economic factors and the structure of Congress in the growth of government, 1930–2002," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 415-448, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Tridimas, George & Winer, Stanley L., 2005. "The political economy of government size," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 643-666, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Aidt, T.S. & Jense , P.S., 2007. "Tax Structure, Size of Government, and the Extension of the Voting Franchise in Western Europe, 1860-1938," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0715, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. [Downloadable!]
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  4. James B. Davies & Junsen Zhang, 1996. "Measuring Marginal Income Tax Rates for Individuals in Canada: Averages and Distributions over Time," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 29(4), pages 959-75, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Emmanuel Saez & Michael R. Veall, 2005. "The Evolution of High Incomes in Northern America: Lessons from Canadian Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(3), pages 831-849, June. [Downloadable!]
  6. Saikkonen, Pentti, 1991. "Asymptotically Efficient Estimation of Cointegration Regressions," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(01), pages 1-21, March. [Downloadable!]
  7. Lawrence W. Kenny & Stanley L. Winer, 2001. "Tax Systems in the World - An Empirical Investigation into the Importance of Tax Bases, Collection Costs, and Political Regime," Carleton Economic Papers 01-03, Carleton University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  8. J. Ferris & Soo-Bin Park & Stanley Winer, 2008. "Studying the role of political competition in the evolution of government size over long horizons," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 369-401, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. MacKinnon, James G, 1996. "Numerical Distribution Functions for Unit Root and Cointegration Tests," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(6), pages 601-18, Nov.-Dec.. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. David E. Wildasin, 2003. "Fiscal Policy, Human Capital, and Canada-US Labor Market Integration," Public Economics 0309006, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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