The Evolution of the Canada Development Corporation

Abstract

<p>This study has been divided into two levels of analysis. The first and most important level is concerned with examining the evolution of the Canada Development Corporation, hereafter referred to as the CDC. The emphasis of the thesis is on the factors which shaped the Corporation's form and functions. These include national and international economic variables, the personalities and political orientations of decision-makers, specific political circumstances and the decision-making process itself.</p> <p>The most significant contribution that this thesis makes to knowledge is that it has developed an elite model for explaining the evolution of the CDC. It is argued that Canada's indigenous economic elite had the greatest input into the policy process which created the CDC. This is considered to be the most important factor which shaped the CDC's evolution. As a result of this elite's influence, the federal government structured the CDC so that its primary functions were buttress and promote elitism and capitalism in Canada.</p> <p>The second level of analysis is of a macroscopic nature. Here the focus has been on four questions. What does the CDC as a case study say about the role the state has played in the development of the Canadian economy since 1960? is the CDC a defensive of offensive policy response to the problems of foreign investment, capital formation and economic growth in Canada? What have been the implications of using an elite model to analyze the Corporation and its evolution? And finally, what does the CDC's evolution say about the study of public policy?</p>