In Adapting Public Policy to a Labour Market in Transition leading labour market specialists examine specific areas of public policy that have generated considerable attention and debate in recent years. They provide new evidence on issues of utmost concern to the well-being of Canadians and a solid assessment of the challenges and avenues for policy reform.

After two decades of rapid technological and structural change and an overall record of poor economic performance, Canadians need to take stock of the ongoing transformation of the labour market and its implications for public policy. The fundamental changes to the nature of work itself suggest that labour and social policies established decades ago may no longer be adequate or appropriate. Moreover, the continuing perception of increased instability and worsening employment outcomes, and the growing concern over increased earnings inequality and labour market polarization, have raised serious questions about the role of government not only in addressing the consequences of economic adjustment but also in facilitating or, worse, hampering this process.

Contributors include Michael Baker (University of Toronto & National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA), Paul Beaudry (University of British Columbia), Dwayne Benjamin (University of Toronto), Jean-Michel Cousineau (University of Montreal), Nicole M. Fortin (University of British Columbia & University of Montreal), David A. Green (University of British Columbia), Morley Gunderson (University of Toronto), Peter Kuhn (University of California at Santa Barbara), Guy Lacroix (Laval University), Thomas Lemieux (University of British Columbia & University of Montreal), W. Craig Riddell, France St-Hilaire, Arthur Sweetman (Queen's University), and François Vaillancourt (University of Montreal & C.D. Howe Institute).