HEC Montréal at the heart of a research partnership to boost productivity in Canada

HEC Montréal is among the universities participating in an unprecedented research partnership dedicated to improving Canadian productivity. This initiative aims to leverage long-term, high-impact research in the social sciences and humanities to develop and enact transformative economic policy.

Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, announced an initial federal grant of $6 million over 15 years to support this long-term collaboration.

The partnership will be under the leadership of Trevor Tombe, professor of economics at the University of Calgary and director of economic and fiscal policy at the School of Public Policy. The initiative brings together over 30 members, including universities, federal government agencies and non-governmental partners.
 

Pivotal contribution from HEC Montréal

The partnership will count on the expertise of three HEC Montréal professors – Jean-Félix Brouillette, Benoit Dostie and Nicolas Vincent – particularly in terms of understanding business dynamics, employer-employee relations and market structures in Canada. It will also draw on the expertise of HEC Montréal’s Retirement and Savings Institute, led by Benoit Dostie, with respect to interactions between an ageing population, the transition towards retirement and productivity among older workers.

The HEC Montréal team will seek to understand, among other things, the reasons behind the changes in business dynamics in Canada. Areas being explored include:

• the potential impact of increased market concentration;
• the role of certain regulations that may hinder the efficient reallocation of resources;
• disparities between sectors and regions;
• differences between the life cycles of Canadian and American companies.
   

The aim is to better identify factors that influence the renewal of the entrepreneurial fabric, the ability to scale up and the mechanisms of innovation.

Participation aligned with HEC Montréal’s mission

By participating in this pan-Canadian partnership, HEC Montréal reaffirms its commitment to producing essential knowledge for the country’s economic development and competitiveness. The contribution of Professors Brouillette, Dostie, and Vincent will leverage the School’s expertise in applied economics and data analysis to inform public policy and support the business community.