Available evidence is inconclusive as to the ability of multiple choice items to measure different taxonomic levels of the cognitive domain. The present study analysed the tests of the Examen de Synthèse for the years 1982, 1983 and 1984. Items used in the study were those for which a consensus was reached between three judges and committees for a given taxonomic level. The initial part of the study showed that judges do not classify items at random but according to a mental representation which is individual, personal and relatively stable. In examining results obtained by students, the study failed to show any significant difference in item difficulty or discrimination for items classified as measuring memorization, interpretation of data and problem-solving. Correlations between results (scores and ranks) obtained for items involving memorization and those obtained for items involving higher cognitive levels fail to show that different traits are measured. If further studies corroborate these results, then future efforts should be directed at developing other instruments to measure higher cognitive levels.
The objective of this article is to calculate the optimal gasoline tax for Quebec and, in particular, for its two largest urban areas: the Greater Montreal Area (GMA) and the Greater Quebec City Area (GQA). This optimal tax accounts for externalities resulting from traffic congestion, road accidents, local air pollution, and climate change. Our methodology draws on Parry's (2009) theoretical model, which we calibrate with parameters for the Quebec context from the literature or from original estimations. We find that the optimal gasoline tax should be $0.72/litre in the GMA, $0.65/litre in the GQA, and $0.28/litre in the rest of the province. Thus, at $0.292/litre, the actual level of excise tax turns out to be very close to the optimal level of gasoline tax if the congestion costs are internalized through other instruments such as congestion charges.
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