Canadian Pensions

Research Paper # 100666

Canadian Studies > Economics and Finance
Canadian Studies > Government and Government Policy

Canadian Pensions

A review of the re-examinations of the pension system in Canada and the changes that have resulted from them.

1,088 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the three major re-examinations of the pension system that have occurred in Canada since the 1980s. It looks at the current system and analyzes whether any significant changes have resulted from the re-examinations. This paper argues that there has been little real change to the pension system over the last three decades.

From the Paper:

"However, the difficulty in reaching definitive conclusions about issues that embrace complex matters pertaining to both finances and politics is illustrated by the fact that different theorists have completely different views as to the fundamental issue of whether there has in fact been much change in pension policies in Canada since the 1980s. On the one hand, Beland and Myles are convinced that changes have been modest, stating that "relatively little has changed to the basic pension design constructed in the 1950s and 1960s" (253). Hence, Beland and Myles are concerned with explaining why change has been so modest. Similarly, Myles and Pierson refer to pension changes in Canada quite dismissively as "modest changes" (331)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Battle, Ken. "Sustaining Public Pensions in Canada." In N. Takayama, ed., Taste the Pie. Tokyo: Maruzen, 2003.
Beland, Daniel, and John Myles. "Stasis Amidst Change: Canadian Pension Reform in an Age of Retrenchment." In G. Bonoli and T. Shinkawa, eds., Ageing and Pension Reform Around the World. Edward Elgar, 2005.
Myles, John and Paul Pierson. "The Comparative Political Economy of Pension Reform." In Pierson, ed., The New Politics of the Welfare State. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.