The Carbon Tax was imposed across Canada by the Federal Liberal Government of Justin Trudeau
- Choose one of the following questions
- Find and collect relevant documentation and/data. Ensure your materials are reputable and reliable from official, authenticated sources.
- Write an essay of 1,500-2,000 words using APA referencing
- What role did Adam Smith see for government in a primarily free-market economy? How close does the present-day capitalist economy align with Smith’s views? Ensure you use relevant extracts from Smith’s work as well as secondary works, and refer to areas such as taxation, tariffs, and wealth distribution.
- Describe Keynesian economic theory and with reference to its concepts, explain why it diverged so dramatically from Classical Liberal economic theory. Explain the rise and fall of Keynesian theory and assess its relevance today. Ensure you use original documentation, from Keynes’ work, in your answer.
- How ‘representative’ is Representative Democracy in Canada? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the representative system? Is there is a ‘democratic deficit’? Explain why some people or groups are more represented than others? How can we improve the Canadian political system? Ensure you examine the electoral system as well as the policy-making process.
- Assess the scandal surrounding subsidies to Bombardier, General Motors, or the SNC-Lavalin affair from earlier this year, or another example of “rent-seeking” conduct by a business in the Canadian economy. Your essay should incorporate a discussion of the following areas: How effective is government corporate welfare? Is it fair to taxpayers for corporations to be provided with public funds in this way? What is the rationale for these subsidies and payments? Are they legitimate in a free-market economy? In what areas are there ethical problems surrounding the relationship between government funding and corporate interests?
- Choose an example of a privatized industry in Canada or Great Britain. Describe the rationale for privatization and, using relevant data, show the tangible effects of privatization. Explain whether these effects are consistent with the expected outcomes of privatization. Ensure you evaluate the relative influences of fiscal responsibility, economic efficiency, and political ideology, in explaining why particular industries were privatized.
- Explain the Marxist critique of capitalism, noting Marx’s views on class struggle and the revolutionary roles of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Explain the Labour Theory of Value and describe why it was so central to Marxist theory. Ensure you explain Marx’s historical perspective and his theory of historical materialism, by reference to his written work.
- Why does Supply Management of agricultural goods continue to exist in Canada? Describe how the system operates and explain its advantages and disadvantages, identifying particular groups who gain or lose by Supply Management. Is there any prospect of the system changing? If so, who would gain and who would lose?
- The Carbon Tax was imposed across Canada by the Federal Liberal Government of Justin Trudeau. What are the objectives of the Carbon Tax and what kind of behaviour does it incentivize and dis-incentivize? Is it a viable approach to tackle climate change, and are there any viable policy alternatives? Has the tax been effective in areas where it has been levied? What are the implications for businesses? Discuss the arguments for and against the Carbon Tax. Be sure to describe the economic, environmental, and constitutional issues raised by the Carbon Tax
ESSAY TITLES
- The USMCA trade agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, was recently revised in December 2019. Describe the main changes from the original agreement of 2018, indicate which sectors were affected, and explain the reasons why the agreement was revised. Which business sectors have gained from the revised agreement, and on balance, explaining your reasoning, which country has and will gain most from the USMCA? You can speculate as to the likely anticipated outcome of the agreement for each country.
- Examine an existing business, operating in North America or other parts of the world, explain their operations and the sector they are involved in, and conduct research into their lobbying techniques, activities, and practices. Assess the methods by which the company has lobbied politicians and officials and describe the regulatory and legal requirements which they have to abide by when lobbying. Assess how successful the company has been evaluated against sectoral, national and international developments where applicable.
- Explain why the Competition Bureau halted the proposed takeover of Air Transat by Air Canada, detailing the remit of the Bureau to maintain healthy competition within the Canadian economy. By examining the Canadian airline sector, assess whether the Bureau was justified in its cautious approach. By reference to the recent decision to stop the takeover, assess whether it is a satisfactory outcome for government, the airlines, and consumers? Feel free to speculate on the future prospects of the company based on research of the sector.
