The fight against poverty is one of the greatest socio-economic challenges facing Québec society in the coming years. It is also a challenge that research and innovation can and must help to meet. Our research project is perfectly in line with this objective. Inspired by recent developments in the literature focusing on the analysis of well-being, our study examines the impact of governmental policies and programs designed to combat poverty and social exclusion. Our results were obtained through the collaboration of a number of researchers from various economic and sociological disciplines, and are based on economic and social indicators for the measurement and monitoring of poverty and social exclusion.
Québec's social programs are among the most generous and most effective.
The project allowed us to evaluate certain anti-poverty programs and policies currently in effect in Québec. We also assessed the impact of alternative methods for fighting poverty and exclusion.
The study involved the use of static and behavioural microsimulation models to quantify the effects of certain measures on the standard of living distribution, and to simulate the effects of alternative programs on poverty and social exclusion. Overall, our findings indicate that Québec's social programs are among the most generous and most effective for reducing poverty and social inequality, but come with high taxes and a costly taxation system.
Main researcher: Jean-Yves Duclos, Université Laval
Original title: Analyse critique et comparative des programmes et politiques de lutte contre la pauvreté au Québec
