It is widely believed that government ideology and electoral constraints are two major factors that influence the level of public expenditures. However, Frey and Schneider argue that the effects of the two phenomena are not simultaneous. Only when a government is popular can it pursue ideological goals, and when popularity is low, energies must be redirected toward gaining support from voters to win the next election. Data draw from the Canadian provincial case are used to test empirically this hypothesis. The findings support the Frey and Schneider explanation.

Several Canadian and international scholars offer commentaries on the implications of the COVID‐19 pandemic for governments and public service institutions, and fruitful directions for public administration research and practice. This first suite of commentaries focuses on the executive branch, variously considering: the challenge for governments to balance demands for accountability and learning while rethinking policy mixes as social solidarity and expert knowledge increasingly get challenged; how the policy‐advisory systems of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and United Kingdom were structured and performed in response to the COVID‐19 crisis; whether there are better ways to suspend the accountability repertoires of Parliamentary systems than the multiparty agreement struck by the minority Liberal government with several opposition parties; comparing the Canadian government’s response to the COVID‐19 pandemic and the Global Financial Crisis and how each has brought the challenge of inequality to the fore; and whether the COVID‐19 pandemic has accelerated or disrupted digital government initiatives, reinforced traditional public administration values or more open government.

ObjectivesReview available evidence for impact of electronic health records (EHRs) on predefined patient safety outcomes in interventional studies to identify gaps in current knowledge and design interventions for future research.DesignScoping review to map existing evidence and identify gaps for future research.Data sourcesPubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Trial registers.Study selectionEligibility criteria: We conducted a scoping review of bibliographic databases and the grey literature of randomised and non-randomised trials describing interventions targeting a list of fourteen predefined areas of safety. The search was limited to manuscripts published between January 2008 and December 2018 of studies in adult inpatient settings and complemented by a targeted search for studies using a sample of EHR vendors. Studies were categorised according to methodology, intervention characteristics and safety outcome.Results from identified studies were grouped around common themes of safety measures.ResultsThe search yielded 583 articles of which 24 articles were included. The identified studies were largely from US academic medical centres, heterogeneous in study conduct, definitions, treatment protocols and study outcome reporting. Of the 24 included studies effective safety themes included medication reconciliation, decision support for prescribing medications, communication between teams, infection prevention and measures of EHR-specific harm. Heterogeneity of the interventions and study characteristics precluded a systematic meta-analysis. Most studies reported process measures and not patient-level safety outcomes: We found no or limited evidence in 13 of 14 predefined safety areas, with good evidence limited to medication safety.ConclusionsPublished evidence for EHR impact on safety outcomes from interventional studies is limited and does not permit firm conclusions regarding the full safety impact of EHRs or support recommendations about ideal design features. The review highlights the need for greater transparency in quality assurance of existing EHRs and further research into suitable metrics and study designs.

Abstract.This study tested if the economic voting hypothesis can explain voters' support for provincial governments. Using pooled time-series data from six provinces, a popularity function was developed and tested. Findings indicate that economic conditions have an effect on provincial government popularity. Voters attribute different responsibilities, however, to different political parties. Left-wing incumbent parties are held to be accountable for unemployment, while centrist and right-wing ruling parties are accountable for public deficits. Results also show that provincial government popularity depreciates over time and is correlated to the federal government's own popularity.Résumé.Cette étude a pour objectif de vérifier si l'hypothèse du vote économique peut expliquer la popularité des gouvernements provinciaux auprès des électeurs. Ainsi, une fonction de popularité est présentée, puis testée à l'aide de séries chronologiques provenant de six provinces canadiennes. Les résultats empiriques obtenus indiquent que la situation économique exerce une influence sur la popularité des gouvernements provinciaux. Toutefois, les électeurs attribuent différentes responsabilités à différents partis politiques. Ainsi, ils tiennent les partis de gauche responsables de la situation de l'emploi et les partis de centre et de droite responsables des déficits publics. De plus, les résultats démontrent que la popularité des gouvernements provinciaux se déprécie avec le temps et est corrélée à la popularité du gouvernement fédéral.

Twenty-five years ago, the Canadian federal government launched an ambitious program review. Facing an unprecedented deficit and a ballooning debt, the newly elected Liberal government was committed to restoring fiscal discipline quickly and permanently. The outcome was impressive. Departmental operating budgets were cuts by 20 per cent on average and the federal budget came back to balance in just three years. This chapter tells the story behind this success. The 1994–1996 Program Review was developed around a clear proposition, strongly supported by political leaders, and implemented by a team of skilled and seasoned public servants. It was applauded by many stakeholders in Canada and received international recognition. However, the cuts made were highly uneven across departments and programs, with many citizens and nonprofit and for-profit organizations losing access to public services, and the nature of fiscal federalism evolved significantly to the dismay of many provinces and territories. This chapter shows that while the Program Review was an overall success, not all conditions for a ‘great policy success’ were met. Finally, the exceptional circumstances in which the review was conceived and carried out have not been fully appreciated, which explains why later governments have been unable to replicate its success.