James R. Melvin – författare

This study investigates how an increase in the price of petroleum and natural gas would alter commodity prices in Ontario, and then estimates the effects on production and employment. A 100 per cent increase in energy prices is assumed. Using the Ontario input-output table it is found that commodity price increases would be relatively small, on average 2.7 per cent over-all and less than 1.6 per cent in basic manufacturing. However, using Cobb-Douglas utility functions it is also calculated that the Ontario labour force would suffer an employment reduction of 2 to 4 per cent. Economic policy alternatives open to Ontario are then considered. Subsidies to offset commodity price increases would be very expensive and difficult to administer. Retaliatory measures, such as a change in the Ontario Corporate Income Tax, would be inefficient. It is concluded that from Ontario’s point of view, the best economic policy would be to attempt to ensure that petroleum and natural gas prices remain uniform throughout Canada.

This study examines ways in which residents of Canadian cities are affected by increases in petroleum prices. The authors apply economic models of residential and industrial location to determine the response of individuals and firms to higher oil prices in the short run and the long run. The short run effects include conservation of higher price petroleum products and reduction in other expenditures; the long run effects include movement closer to employment centres, changes in urban densities, rents, and house prices, and the substitution of other forms of transit. The implications for municipal zoning, the provision of parks, the location of schools and other public facilities, and plans for road building and expressways are also considered.

In a geographically dispersed country such as Canada, in which regions are distinguished resource bases, transport policies are a critical factor in economic development. In this study James Melvin considers the role of tariffs as they affect transportation costs within Canada.

Melvin proposes application of the two-country model of neoclassical trade to the interregional economic structure of Canada, taking into account the costs of internal transport. He applies this basic theoretical approach to a number of different problems; taxation, capital flows between regions, short-run factor immobility, and increasing returns to scale.

Melvin''s findings indicate that tariffs induce resource waste by encouraging excessive internal transportation of goods between regions. He concludes that with an assessment of policy implications for Ontario arising from his study.