Government-sponsored training programs are increasingly being seen as a panacea for improving prospects in the workplace for disadvantaged workers. In Canada, federal and provincial governments have already embarked on such programs and are poised to invest more money.

As a natural extension of its interest in the ways in which the private sector reacts to the activities of government, The Fraser Institute has long studied the underground economy. In pursuing this research, the Institute assembled a roster of experts in Vancouver in April 1994. They included government officials, accountants, economists, lawyers, federal police, politicians, and public policy analysts from Canada, the United States, Britain, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Russia, and Hong Kong.

Do labour unions advance or hinder the economic performance of firms and the competitiveness of the economy? The answer to this question provides us with a rationale for either strengthening or weakening labour legislation governing bargaining rights and the organizing of unions. To answer this question, Professor Barry T. Hirsch surveys the evidence from research into the effects of unionization on productivity, profitability, investment, and employment growth.