Reforming Employment Insurance for the 21st Century analyzes problems with Canada’s EI system, such as providing unequal benefits depending on where a worker lives, and not covering the self-employed or those who work in the growing ‘gig’ economy. The study also highlights several ways Canada’s employment insurance system could be reformed, including the idea of an Unemployment Insurance Savings Account.

Two new essays—The Drag on Productivity from Excessive Regulation, by researcher Laura Jones, chief strategic officer and executive vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), and The Importance of Labour Market Mobility to Productivity Growth by Fraser Institute senior fellow Robert P. Murphy—argues that governments could increase worker productivity and wages by eliminating undue labour market restrictions.

Two new essays—Putting Government on a Financial Diet: The Role of Statutory Fiscal Rules by Jack Mintz, president’s fellow at the University of Calgary, and Government Size and Economic Growth: An Overview by Livio Di Matteo, professor of economics at Lakehead University and a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute—note that the federal government’s budget deficit and mounting debt, and the overall size of government in Canada, will discourage economic productivity and the possibility of a four-day work week.