Competitiveness report finds Canada lacking

A follow-up to an influential 1991 study on Canadian competitiveness says Canada’s “spectacular macroeconomic turnaround” has not been matched at the microeconomic level, resulting in falling competitiveness, productivity and standard of living. Entitled Canadian Competitiveness: A Decade After the Crossroads, the report was authored by Roger Martin and Michael Porter who also wrote the original study. They argue that the boom of the late 1990s was mostly the result of a weak Canadian currency and charge that most domestic firms have failed to implement innovative changes in the way they do business. On the government side, Martin and Porter says spending on post secondary education and university research is far too low. They do note, however, that the quality and productivity of Canadian R&D is high. They call for fundamental tax reform and niche investments by government but save the bulk of their recommendations for business. The full report can be found at: http://www.mgmt.utoronto.ca/....