An all-pervading interdependence is what makes economics so intractable a subject. Walras' algebra, which represented the relationships between prices and quantities as a system of equations, was one of the first explicit demonstrations of how everything could depend on everything without entailing circular reasoning. So far as positive economics is concerned the only relationships to be considered are those which are believed to be operative; that a man feels worse off in consequence of the change of fortune or behaviour of other men is by itself nothing to the purpose of positive economics. In order for such facts to qualify as agenda for an economics that seeks to formulate predictive hypotheses these feelings must have some impact on observable economic magnitudes—on the prices and the quantities of goods and factors. But for a normative study, at any rate for a study that is manifestly concerned with human welfare, such reactions of men to the behaviour of others are no less relevant simply because they do not register on the existing economic mechanisms. Indeed, it is just because these reactions fail to influence the working of the market that they are of particular interest to economists concerned with resource allocation.

Cette étude s'inscrit dans le cadre plus large d'une analyse de la vie politique montréalaise. Vouloir répondre à la question « qui gouverne ? » exige que l'on considère d'abord les détenteurs offlciels de la puissance politique. L'objectif à long terme que nous poursuivons amènera ensuite à tâcher de saisir le processus en action, à cerner les rôles et combats réels au moment de la mise en train d'actions importantes, de la prise de décision. Pour le moment, la recherche présentée ici porte sur un aspect très précis: la connaissance des élites politiques officielles entre 1840 et 1960.

Montréal reçoit sa première charte municipale en 1833 mais son autonomie, tout au moins formelle, ne sera acquise pour de bon qu'en 1840. Entre cette date et 1960, trente-huit maires ont dirigé près d'une centaine de conseils municipaux. Voilà donc un personnel politique de bonne dimension. Qui ont été ces élus du peuple depuis cent-vingt ans ? A quels groupes ethniques appartenaient-ils, à quelle religion; quel était leur statut social: leur occupation, leur niveau d'instruction; ont-ils participé à la politique à d'autres niveaux, provincial ou fédéral, sous quelle bannière ? Telles sont les questions que nous nous sommes posées. Les éléments de réponse ont pu en général être obtenus et une forte majorité de ces élus possède une fiche à peu près complète. Les sources sont assez diverses, mais les dossiers d'archives en constituent l'essentiel. Mentionnons tout de même quelques recueils biographiques qui ont été précieux. Voilà d'ailleurs un des aspects les plus étudiés de notre vie politique, grâce d'ailleurs à des recherches patientes et tenaces. Nous avons eu à les compléter dans le cas des conseillers municipaux surtout, et encore davantage à les soumettre à des analyses propres à la science politique.

There are two things we would like to do in what follows. The first is to provide a comparative anatomy of some of the simple, basic models of economic growth. The second is to offer the thesis that within this selection of models surprisingly little has been added to the structure of Sir Roy Harrod's “Essay in Dynamic Theory.” If the Harrod model is prefaced by F. P. Ramsey's account of savings, and supplemented by J. von Neumann's existence theorems for growth in a disaggregated economy, that range includes the essential ideas of the entire selection. Many issues have been clarified by the later items. Useful elaborations have been developed, chiefly in an improved treatment of money and of technological change. But other elaborations have been at best ornamental, and purely analytical improvements have been very small. In the spirit of this assessment we maintain that it is a mistake to link Harrod's model with that of E. D. Domar in the often encountered Harrod-Domar model: the Domar model is much the narrower in scope.

These views might depend on the choice we have made of simple models, but we believe they reflect instead the aptness and durability of the Harrod scheme. In any case we are not attempting either a review article or an exercise in the history of economic thought. Our interest is in analysis, and we identify our choice of models by a short list of specific references, drawing upon associated commentaries only for help in interpretation. The list goes back no earlier than to 1928 and F. P. Ramsey's classical “Mathematical Theory of Savings.”

Canadian federal experience has centred around two major themes. The first relates to cultural dualism, the desire and ability of French- and English-speaking Canadians to survive as such and to use the governmental institutions which they respectively dominate in order to ensure this outcome. The second involves public action to meet the material expectations of individuals and groups living within an economy where burdens and benefits have been determined largely by the economic policies of successive federal administrations. Those who have concerned themselves with Canadian federalism have usually believed, explicitly or implicitly, that either the cultural or the economic problem was the major challenge which the federal system faced. Thus there are two versions of what our constitutional arrangements are all about, and these are most strikingly illustrated by the divergent perspectives of the Rowell-Sirois and Tremblay Commission. The former was almost exclusively concerned with the reallocation of revenues, revenue sources, and functional responsibilities between the two levels of government and did not deal in any explicit way with the impact of existing or proposed arrangements on the survival of the two cultures. To the Tremblay Commission the great theme of our constitutional history since Confederation is the attempt of English-speaking Canada to subvert the original federal compact and the resistance of these attempts by French Canadians; its Report does deal in great detail with economic issues but its basic argument is that the essential and permanent value of Canadian federalism is to make possible the survival of the two cultural groups.

In the past several years, a Royal Commission has reported on the automotive industry and a number of changes have been made in tariffs on automobiles and parts. Although the changes of late 1962 and late 1963 differed in detail from the recommendations of Dean Bladen in his Royal Commission report, they introduced in an alternative form the major innovation recommended by the report, namely, export incentives. By encouraging exports, and particularly exports of parts, the government hoped to stimulate Canadian employment, improve the current account balance, and contribute to the efficiency of the Canadian industry by making possible longer production runs.

Issues of great complexity were introduced by both the Bladen recommendations and the recent changes. Evaluation of their probable effects is made doubly difficult because of the previously existing system of import duties compounded with Canadian content requirements. Nevertheless, it is important that a detailed study be made of recent innovations, particularly as the three-year limit on the changes of late 1963 has made it clear that there will be a major review of policy in the near future. American objections to the innovations, and the possibility of retaliation, have further increased the importance of an evaluation.