Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Explaining the Quiet Decline

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Rethinking Canadian Economic Growth and Development since 1900

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Economic History ((PEHS))

  • 425 Accesses

Abstract

The role that institutions played in Québec’s economic growth is rarely recognized as much it ought. Yet, the outcome of the Quiet Revolution for the institutions can help explain why this period would have such disappointing outcomes. These institutions (or voluntary associations) produce what economists and sociologists call “social capital.”

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Gilles Paquet. Duplessis et la croissance économique: une analyse exploratoire, Working paper, Ottawa, Université d’Ottawa, 1996, p. 5.

  2. 2.

    Robert Axelrod. The Evolution of Cooperation, New York, Basic Books, 1984, pp. 27–54.

  3. 3.

    Erik O. Kimbrough, Vernon Smith & Bart Wilson. “Building a Market: From Personal to Impersonal Exchange”, in: Paul Zak (Ed.), Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2008, pp. 280–300.

  4. 4.

    This is a case in point described by Avner Greif in “Contract Enforceability and Economic Institutions in Early Trade: The Maghribi Traders’ Coalition”, American Economic Review, 1993, Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 525–548.

  5. 5.

    Elinor Ostrom & David Schwab. “The Vital Role of Norms and Rules in Maintaining Open Public and Private Economies”, in: Paul Zak (Ed.), Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008, 204–228.

  6. 6.

    David Beito. From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1890–1967, Chapel Hill, NC, North Carolina University Press, 2000.

  7. 7.

    Mark Pennington & John Meadowcroft. Rescuing Social Capital from Social Democracy, London, Institute of Economic Affairs, 2007, p. 52 (Mutual ownership and building societies).

  8. 8.

    Mark Granovetter. “The Impact of Social Structure on Economic Outcomes”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2005, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 36–38; Axel Franzen & Dominik Hangartner. “Social Networks and Labour Market Outcomes: The Non-Monetary Benefits of Social Capital”, European Sociological Review, 2006, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 353–368.

  9. 9.

    Eric M. Uslaner. The Moral Foundations of Trust, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 161–189.

  10. 10.

    L’Annuaire Statistique du Québec, Québec City, Ministère de l’Industrie et du Commerce, édition de 1947, p. 583.

  11. 11.

    Ibid ., p. 651.

  12. 12.

    Benoît Lévesque. Un siècle et demi d’économie sociale au Québec: plusieurs configurations en présence (1850–2007), Montréal, Centre de Recherche sur les Innovations Sociales à l’Université du Québec à Montréal, 2004, p. 25.

  13. 13.

    Yvan Rousseau. “De la cotisation à la prime d’assurance: le secours mutuel au Québec entre 1880 et 1945”, Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l’Ouest, 2003, Vol. 110, No. 4, pp. 151–169.

  14. 14.

    David Beito. From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1890–1967, Chapel Hill, NC, North Carolina University Press, 2000.

  15. 15.

    This excerpt is taken from a translation of Beito’s article found online. David Beito. “Les pauvres avant l’État-Providence”, Le Québécois Libre, 2012 (1996), No. 291 (online): http://www.quebecoislibre.org/11/110815-3.html (Viewed 29 June 2012).

  16. 16.

    Lucia Ferretti. “Caritas-Trois-Rivières (1954–1966), ou les difficultés de la charité catholique à l’époque de l’État-Providence”, Revue d’histoire de l’Amérique française, 2004, Vol. 58, No. 2, pp. 213–215.

  17. 17.

    Kenneth Scheve & David Stasavage. “Religion and Preferences for Social Insurance”, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 2006, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 255–286.

  18. 18.

    Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara. “Preferences for Redistribution in the Land of Opportunities”, Journal of Public Economics, 2005, Vol. 89, No. 5, pp. 897–931.

  19. 19.

    Kenneth Scheve & David Stasavage. “Religion and Preferences for Social Insurance”, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 2006, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 260–261.

  20. 20.

    Charles Murray. Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950–1980, New York City, NY, Basic Books, 1984; Charles Murray. In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State, Washington, DC, American Enterprise Institute, 2006, pp. 111–124.

  21. 21.

    Ibid ., pp. 88–91.

  22. 22.

    Gilles Paquet. Duplessis et la croissance économique: une analyse exploratoire, Working paper, Ottawa, University of Ottawa, 1996, p. 11.

  23. 23.

    John Helliwell. Well-Being and Social Capital: Does Suicide Pose a Puzzle?, Cambridge, MA, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2006.

  24. 24.

    Tableau 102–0552: Décès et taux de mortalité selon certains groups de causes et le sexe, Canada, provinces et territoires. Ottawa, Statistics Canada, 2012.

  25. 25.

    In Manitoba – the province where residents give the greater proportion of their income to charity – annual donations average at 1 658$. In Alberta, the annual donation average is 2 251$ – the greatest of all the average gross amounts of all Canadian provinces; David Lasby. Trends in Individual Donations: 1984–2010, Ottawa, Imagine Canada, 2011. p. 9.

  26. 26.

    Nachum Gabler, Charles Lammam & Niels Veldhuis. Generosity in Canada and the United States: The 2011 Generosity Index, Vancouver, Fraser Institute, 2011. pp. 5–6.

  27. 27.

    Paul Reed. Generosity in Canada: Trends in Personal Gifts and Charitable Donations Over Three Decades, 1969 to 1997: A Report Summary, Ottawa, Carleton University and Statistics Canada, 1999, p. 5.

  28. 28.

    Mireille Vézina & Susan Crompton. Volunteering in Canada, Ottawa, Statistics Canada, 2012, pp. 45–46.

  29. 29.

    Gérard Bélanger. L’économie du Québec, mythes et réalité, Montréal, Éditions Varia, 2007, p. 279.

  30. 30.

    Ravi Pendakur & Fernando Mata. The Social Capital of Linguistic Groups in Canada: A Look at Two General Social Surveys, Ottawa, Department of Canadian Heritage, 2006.

  31. 31.

    Pierre Lemieux. “Following the Herd: Why Do Some Ideas Suddenly Become Popular and Then Die Out Just as Quickly?”, Regulation, Hiver 2003–2004, pp. 16–21.

  32. 32.

    Ibid .

  33. 33.

    Frederik Cyrus Roeder & Yanick Labrie. The Private Sector within a Public Health Care System: The German Example, Montréal, Institut économique de Montréal, 2012, p. 3.

  34. 34.

    Frank Lechner. “Secularization in the Netherlands”, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1996, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 257–259.

  35. 35.

    Florian Pichler & Claire Wallace. “Patterns of Formal and Informal Social Capital in Europe”, European Sociological Review, 2007, Vol. 23, No. 4, p. 423.

  36. 36.

    Mancur Olson. The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation and Social Rigidities, New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 1982.

  37. 37.

    Sheilagh Ogilvie. “Guilds, Efficiency, and Social Capital: Evidence from German Proto-Industry”, Economic History Review, 2004, Vol. 57, No. 2, pp. 286–333; Sheilagh Ogilvie. “How Does Social Capital Affect Women? Guilds and Communities in Early Modern Germany”, American Historical Review, 2004, Vol. 109, No. 2, pp. 325–359.

  38. 38.

    Mancur Olson. The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation and Social Rigidities, New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 1982, p. 44.

  39. 39.

    Ibid ., p. 73.

  40. 40.

    Stephen Broadberry & Nicholas Crafts. “Britain’s Productivity Gap in the 1930s: Some Neglected Factors”, Journal of Economic History, 1992, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 531–558.

  41. 41.

    Vincent Geloso & Germain Belzile. L’industrie du taxi – en route vers une réforme, Montréal, Institut économique de Montréal, 2010.

  42. 42.

    David Descôteaux. Le cloisonnement des métiers dans l’industrie de la construction, Montréal, Institut économique de Montréal, 2010.

  43. 43.

    Tableau 384–0010: Subventions et transferts de capitaux des administrations publiques, comptes économiques provinciaux, Ottawa, Statistics Canada, 2012; Tableau Comparatif Interprovinciaux, Chapitre 1: Démographique, Québec, Institut de la Statistique du Québec, 2012, p. 8; Budget de dépense 2009–2010, Volume II, Crédits des Ministères et Organismes, Québec City, Conseil du Trésor, 2009, p. 117.

  44. 44.

    Michael Smith. “L’Impact de Québec Inc., répartition des revenus et efficacité économique”, Sociologie et Sociétés, 1994, Vol. 27, No. 2, p. 94.

  45. 45.

    Claude Garcia. Quel Mandat pour la SGF fusionnée, Montréal, Institut économique de Montréal, 2010.

  46. 46.

    Gérard Bélanger. Op. cit., p. 171.

  47. 47.

    Mario Dumais. Les Conséquences Négatives des Offices de Commercialisation Agricole, Montréal, Institut économique de Montréal, 2012; William Robson & Colin Busby. Freeing Up Food: The Ongoing Cost, and Potential Reform of Supply Management, Toronto, CD Howe Institute, 2010.

  48. 48.

    Jean-Marc Suret. “Le gouvenement du Québec et le financement des entreprises: les mauvaises réponses à un faux problem”, in: Filip Palda (Ed.), L’État Interventionniste: le gouvernement provincial et l’économie du Québec, Vancouver, Fraser Institute, 1993, pp. 147–163.

  49. 49.

    Rémunération des salariés. État et évolution comparés 2009 – Faits saillants, 2009, Québec, Institut de la Statistique du Québec, 2010, p. 3.

  50. 50.

    Michael Smith. “L’Impact de Québec Inc., répartition des revenus et efficacité économique”, Sociologie et Sociétés, 1994, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 91–110.

  51. 51.

    John Londregan. “Political Income Redistribution”, in: Barry Weingast & Donald Wittman (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Political Economy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 83–101.

  52. 52.

    Niclas Berggren & Henrik Jordhal. “Free to Trust: Economic Freedom and Social Capital”, Kyklos, 2006, Vol. 59, No. 2, pp. 141–169.

  53. 53.

    Ibid ., p. 161.

  54. 54.

    Stephen Ansolabehere. “Voters, Candidates and Parties”, in: Barry Weingast & Donald Wittman (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Political Economy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 30–31.

  55. 55.

    Mancur Olson. The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation and Social Rigidities, New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 1982; Mancur Olson. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1971.

  56. 56.

    Gérard Bélanger. Op. cit., p. 172.

  57. 57.

    Karl Aiginger & Martin Falk. “Explaining Differences in Economic Growth among OECD Countries”, Empirica, 2005, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 19–43.

  58. 58.

    Robert Barro. “Government Spending, Interest Rates, Prices, and Budget Deficits in the United Kingdom, 1701–1918”, Journal of Monetary Economics, 1987, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 221–247; Peter Temin & Hans-Joachim Voth. “Credit Rationing and Crowding Out During the Industrial Revolution: Evidence from Hoare’s Bank”, Explorations in Economic History, 2005, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 325–348; Jeffrey Williamson. “Why Was British Growth So Slow During the Industrial Revolution”, Journal of Economic History, 1984, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 687–712.

  59. 59.

    Gérard Bélanger & Jean-Luc Migué. “The Paradox of Slow Growth, High Income Regions”, Economic Affairs, 2007, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 60–64.

  60. 60.

    Luc Godbout. “La Révolution tranquille et les finances publiques: bilan et regard vers l’avenir”, in: Guy Berthiaume & Claude Corbo (Eds.), La Révolution Tranquille en Héritage, Québec City, Éditions Boréal Express, 2011, pp. 209–213.

  61. 61.

    Kumi Harischandra & Niels Veldhuis. “Assessing the Pre-2004 Equalization Program”, in: Jason Clemens & Niels Veldhuis (Eds.), Beyond Equalization: Examining Fiscal Transfers in a Broader Context, Vancouver, Fraser Institute, 2007, p. 61.

  62. 62.

    Our purpose here is to display accurately the general trajectory of (relative) upward or downward debt trends, rather than looking to precisely compare debt levels from a given year to the next. Government accounting methods prevent us from being able to make the latter kind of assessments.

  63. 63.

    La Dette du Gouvernement du Québec, Québec City, Ministère des Finances du Québec, 2010, p. 28.

  64. 64.

    Carmen Reinhardt & Ken Rogoff. This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 2009.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Economic History, London School of Economics, Saint-Lambert, Québec, Canada

    Vincent Geloso

Authors
  1. Vincent Geloso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Geloso, V. (2017). Explaining the Quiet Decline. In: Rethinking Canadian Economic Growth and Development since 1900. Palgrave Studies in Economic History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49950-5_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49950-5_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49949-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49950-5

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation