| As part of the back-to-school season, CIRANO wishes to highlight one of the most recent articles published in its journal PERSPECTIVES: Fais comme ta sœur : reste à l’école ! based on the CIRANO project report Les avantages socioéconomiques d’un rattrapage de la diplomation des garçons au Québec authored by Fabian Lange (McGill University, CIRANO) and Marie Connolly (UQAM, CIRANO).
This study addresses a major societal issue: boys’ school dropout rates. The authors demonstrate that if the dropout rate among boys were reduced to the same level as that of girls, the benefits would be substantial—not only for the young men directly concerned but also for Québec society as a whole. If boys’ dropout rates reached parity with those of girls: Their earnings would increase by 11% They would pay 16% more in taxes and receive 11% less in social benefits Within 20 years, the number of men without a diploma in the labor market would be reduced by half
These findings are particularly salient in the current context, as the Government of Québec has recently announced a reinvestment of $540 million to support student services. The study’s conclusions suggest that such an effort, combined with targeted measures to prevent school dropout, could generate highly significant long-term economic and social benefits.
Report Presentation
On June 5, Marie Connolly and Fabian Lange presented the results of their CIRANO report to representatives from various Québec government ministries, as part of the Midi-conférences series of the Government-Focused Research Program (PRPG). |
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| | CIRANO is releasing the first video of its 2025-2026 annual theme, Education and Workforce: Towards a More Productive and Equitable Society. Coordinated by Geneviève Dufour, this annual theme will highlight the work of CIRANO researchers on education, the labor market, digital innovation, and inequality. |
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| | In the context of CIRANO’s annual theme, a roundtable was held on July 14, 2025, to discuss labour shortages and training issues raised in CIRANO’s labour market report. Government representatives exchanged views with Benoit Dostie and Fabian Lange on public policy, school dropout, and the impacts of technological change. |
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| | CIRANO and its partners hosted a day of strategic roundtables on artificial intelligence, bringing together key players from the health, culture, finance, and manufacturing sectors. Discussions focused on AI governance, workforce transition, and human capital indicators. The event helped prepare the France–Canada dialogue held the following day at CORIM. |
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| | Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin, President and CEO of CIRANO, and Ingrid Peignier, Senior Director, represented CIRANO at the launch of the 2025-2035 Biofood Policy by Minister Lamontagne (MAPAQ) in the presence of Premier François Legault. Their participation highlights CIRANO’s involvement in the policy’s preparatory work, through the organization of a ministerial workshop and the mobilization of its researchers. |
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| | On June 12, CIRANO hosted a student colloquium in collaboration with the CREEI, the Human Capital Research Group (GRCH), and ECOSVieQ. This event provided students with the opportunity to present their research on major economic and social issues, in line with CIRANO's mission of fostering collaboration, knowledge transfer, and research training. |
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| | Emmanuelle Arpin, professor at École de santé publique de l'Université de Montréal, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, professor at McGill University, both CIRANO researchers, and Lara Gautier, professor at École de santé publique de l'Université de Montréal, co-author the book Québec: A Health System Profile, published by University Toronto Press. This book provides a comprehensive overview of Québec's distinctive health care system, analyzing its organizational structure, policy reforms, socio-political history, and trailblazing innovations in Canada’s health care landscape. On September 23, the authors invite you to the launch of their book from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. |
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| | The combined effect of rising healthcare costs and government budget restrictions is limiting the resources that can be allocated to the healthcare system. Governments are therefore faced with trade-offs when it comes to allocating public funds both within healthcare systems and between different state functions such as education, pensions and income support. In a recent CIRANO study, Olivier Jacques (Université de Montréal, CIRANO) and Philippe Chassé show that the level of prioritization of health is high in public opinion, especially in Quebec. The authors will present their study “Priorité à la santé : les préférences des Québécois et Québécoise en perspective comparée”. |
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| | | The success in achieving global and national carbon neutrality targets depends largely on the decisions and actions of cities regarding climate risk management (KPMG, 2022). Municipal administrations' efforts to manage carbon neutrality can have a significant ripple effect on both the population and the private sector. Unfortunately, few cities have implemented systematic processes to measure carbon emissions, primarily due to a lack of resources. A CIRANO report (Campbell et al., 2025) proposes the development of a carbon emissions dashboard that reflects the activities directly related to the management of a city. This tool could prove highly valuable for any municipal organization seeking to identify the most appropriate measures to reduce its emissions. |
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| | Olivier Jacques and Philippe Chassé |
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| Rising costs and reduced budgets have been putting constraints on healthcare systems. This has led to governments making difficult trade-offs when it comes to allocating public funds. This is taking place both within the healthcare system and between different social missions such as education, pensions or social assistance. In a CIRANO study (Jacques and Chassé, 2025), the authors reveal that Quebecers by and large are very dissatisfied with the healthcare system. There is a strong public push for more spending on healthcare but an unwillingness to pay more taxes to support that new spending. |
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| | Maude Laberge, Bile Yacouba Djedou, Thomas G. Poder, Anaïs Lacasse and Catherine Hudon |
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| In 2024–2025, public health expenditures in Québec exceeded $60 billion, representing 50% of total public spending. It is well documented that health expenditures are concentrated within a minority of users identified as “high users” of healthcare services. However, the care trajectories of these high users (HUs) remain largely underexplored. This study serves as a highly strategic tool for healthcare planning in Québec. The early identification of high-risk trajectory profiles enables upstream action through targeted interventions before overuse becomes entrenched. |
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| | Raquel Fonseca, Markus Poschke et Simon Lord |
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| The objective of this report is to study wealth inequality and cohort differences in wealth in Québec and Ontario for the period 1999-2019. Based on data from Statistics Canada's Survey of Financial Security, it compares household wealth and its distribution across the two provinces, highlights the role of various demographic groups and asset types, and analyzes the evolution of wealth accumulation by age over time. The main findings show that household wealth in Québec was lower than in Ontario as early as 1999, a disparity that has since widened. This gap does not appear to be attributable to differences in household growth, data sources, income growth, educational dynamics, or income shares held by the wealthiest. Instead, the analyses suggest that the primary factor lies in divergent trends in real estate wealth. |
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| | Frédéric Marty and Thierry Warin |
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| This article examines the competitive implications of algorithmic pricing in digital markets. While algorithmic pricing can enhance market efficiency through real-time adjustments, personalized offers, and inventory optimization, it also raises substantial risks, including tacit collusion, discriminatory pricing, market segmentation, and exploitative consumer manipulation. Drawing on theoretical models, simulations, and emerging empirical evidence, the brief explores how algorithmic strategies may lead to supra-competitive prices without explicit coordination, particularly in oligopolistic or data-rich environments. It also highlights how common algorithm providers, shared data sources, and learning dynamics can undermine competition. Special attention is given to the challenges posed by loyalty penalties, ecosystem lock-in, and granular predatory pricing. |
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| Alain Guay and Dalibor Stevanovic |
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| Marco Civico, François Grin and François Vaillancourt |
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| Césaire Meh and Kevin Moran |
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| Thierry Warin and Sarah Elimam |
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| Abdel-Hamid Bello, Maripier Isabelle and Guy Lacroix |
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| Brigitte Milord, Jean-Philippe Meloche andFrançois Vaillancourt |
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| Dorothy Bantasan, Nicolas Charette, Martino Pelli and Jeanne Tschopp |
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