Getting on track : social democratic strategies for Ontario / edited by Daniel Drache ; with the assistance of John O'Grady.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Drache, Daniel, 1941-

O'Grady, John.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Series:

Critical perspectives on public affairs,

Critical perspectives on public affairs, 1188-1127

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Socialism--Ontario.

Socialism.

Industrial policy--Ontario.

Industrial policy.

Labor market--Ontario.

Labor market.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (256 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Buffalo : McGill-Queen's University Press, c1992.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Social democrats have always understood that business will act differently if the rules governing economic life are changed: it is not because they share a commitment to gender equality that Scandinavian employers pay women and men wages that are virtually equal -- they do so because those are the rules. A modern NDP government must take immediate steps to define a coherent industrial strategy. It must devise new policies and develop industrial arrangements to change the ways firms behave, corporations invest, labour markets function, and companies compete. Piecemeal measures, the contributors to this collection insist, are not going to make the industrial sector more efficient. According to them, a redefinition of industrial strategy will only work if higher rates of growth in productivity are institutionalized and entire sectors produce differently than they do now -- without cutting wages or making labour markets more competitive than they already are. The social determinants of productivity, the contributors argue, are key to a different future -- especially in light of the wide range of issues exposed by the feminization of labour markets, the rise of the service industry, and the decline of the welfare state. The authors emphasize the continuing importance of a full employment strategy and the urgent need for income security for workers in highly fragmented labour markets, and outline tough new measures designed to close the wage gap between men and women. They delineate a fresh perspective on dealing with deficits, make a strong case for wide-reaching social welfare reform, and propose a framework by which Ontario can rebuild its shattered industries. Getting on Track convincingly demonstrates that if a modern social democratic administration expects to be dynamic and socially effective it has to have an economic strategy to restructure the economy while upholding its traditional commitment to social equality.

Contents:

""Contents""; ""Tables""; ""Figures""; ""Contributors""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction""; ""PART ONE: RETHINKING ONTARIO'S INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY""; ""1 Dealing with the New Global Economy: What the Premier's Council Overlooked""; ""2 Technology and Trade: Finding the Right Mix""; ""3 Alternatives to Competitiveness""; ""PART TWO: STRATEGIC CHOICES FOR LABOUR""; ""4 Labour Movements and the Welfare State: Alternatives in the 1990s""; ""5 Fragmented Flexibility: Labour and the Social Dividend Solution""; ""6 Full Employment � Still a Viable Goal?""

""PART THREE: RESTRUCTURING LABOUR MARKETS""""7 The Feminization of the Labour Market: Prospects for the 1990s""; ""8 The Disappearing Middle""; ""9 Pay Equity: Closing the Gender Gap""; ""PART FOUR: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR SOCIAL DEMOCRACY""; ""10 Beyond the Wagner Act, What Then?""; ""11 A New Social Welfare Agenda for Canada""; ""12 Deficits � Fact or Fiction? Ontario's Public Finances and the Challenge of Full Employment""; ""13 Labour and the Environment: A Look at BC'S ""War in the Woods""""; ""PART FIVE: CONCLUSION""; ""14 The Way Ahead for Ontario""

Notes:

"Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ottawa, Centre canadien de recherche en politiques de rechange.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

1-282-85583-2

9786612855832

0-7735-6329-6