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A model of Canada's 1879 tariff found a small gain in living standards. Its tests for the whole economy put the gain at about 0.03% to 0.20% of GDP. We must face that result.

Checked 2026-10-20. Each record says what the source can and cannot show.

What this covers

Place: Canada
Time covered: Model of the 1870s to 1880s economy

What this does not prove

This is not a growth rate. A separate loss-only sum leaves out gains from trade prices and tax revenue. That is not the same net sum turning negative.

Read the source

The Welfare Effects of Protection: A General Equilibrium Analysis of Canada's National Policy ↗

Alexander and Keay / Bank of Canada Staff Working Paper 2017-18 · 2017-05

Where to look: Table 3 A-C: all reported general-equilibrium National Policy effects positive, 0.03–0.20% of GDP; panel D reports a separate partial-equilibrium loss measure

Bank of Canada: The Welfare Effects of Protection: A General Equilibrium Analysis of Canada's National Policy, 2017-05. Source terms ↗

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A model of Canada's 1879 tariff found a small gain in living standards. Its tests for the whole economy put the gain at about 0.03% to 0.20% of GDP. We must face that result.

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What this does not show: This is not a growth rate. A separate loss-only sum leaves out gains from trade prices and tax revenue. That is not the same net sum turning negative.

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Bank of Canada: The Welfare Effects of Protection: A General Equilibrium Analysis of Canada's National Policy, 2017-05. Source terms ↗

Sources and notes