New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series

IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled “An Economic Perspective on Asymmetric Federalism in Canada: The Case of Québec”, authored by François Vaillancourt, (Université de Montréal).

The paper examines the unique policy choices adopted by Québec since the post–World War II period and analyses their institutional and economic implications. As one of the most autonomous subnational governments in industrialised countries, Québec provides a particularly relevant case for understanding how asymmetric federalism emerges and operates in practice.

The findings suggest that asymmetric federalism has contributed primarily to the strengthening of Québec’s francophone identity and to the management of political tensions within Canada, rather than to superior economic performance. At the federal level, asymmetric arrangements may have helped contain secessionist pressures while allowing the “laboratory” dimension of federalism to flourish.

📄 The Working Paper is available at:https://www.ideagov.eu/wp