In this collection of essays, leading Canadian policy analysts focus on a range of issues and implications arising from the 1997 federal budget. Included in the volume are papers dealing with a comparative assessment of the Paul Martin and Michael Wilson budgets, an assessment of emerging fiscal dividend and an evaluation of alternative ways in which it can be spent, a comprehensive overview of the proposed Child Benefits package, an in-depth focus on the new proposals for both the CPP/QPP and EI, and an empirical review of the fiscal stance as it relates to employment and the output gap. Attention is also directed to selective provincial budget issues - a retrospective on the series of budgets tabled by retiring Alberta Treasurer Jim Dinning and an overview of the provinces deficit and deficit performance over the last decade.

Contributors include John McCallum (Royal Bank), Bill Watson (Ottawa Citizen), Andrew Sharpe (Centre for the Study of Living Standards), Thomas Wilson, Peter Dungan and Peter Pauly (University of Toronto), Ken Battle (Caledon), Bill Robson (C.D. Howe), Dale Orr (Economic Analysis Associates), Pierre Fortin (UQAM), Teresa Courchene (T.D. Bank), Rick Egelton (Bank of Montreal), Paul Boothe (University of Alberta), and Lisa Powell (Queen's), among others.