The Nation State in a Global / Information Era: Policy Challenges

The Nation State in a Global/Information Era, the fifth volume of the Bell Canada Papers on Economic and Public Policy, examines the nature and role of the nation state in an era of globalization and information. The essays represent a diverse set of views on the relationship between states and markets domestically and internationally, the relevance of the nation state vis-à-vis both international regimes and sub-national regions, and the nature of the relationship between states and their citizens.

Richard Cooper (Harvard) examines government, markets, and citizens in the millennium; Mark Zacher (UBC), Ronald McKinnon (Stanford), and Sylvia Ostry (U of T) provide three perspectives on the changing nature of supra-natural economic and political space; Paul Boothe (U of A) focuses on alternative ways to finance the shift toward a more decentralized federation; David Wolfe (U of T) reflects on the emergence of the region state; Keith Banting (Queen's) examines the evolution of the social contract; and Richard Simeon (U of T) discusses implications of the information revolution for sovereignty and democracy. Appended to each paper are comments of the assigned discussant and an edited version of the floor discussion. Robert Young (Western) is the volume rapporteur.