Feb. 12 - Feb. 16 2024; seventh week of the winter semester.

Strategic Lobbying and Policy Entrepreneurship

In our PPOL607: Politics and Strategy class, we continued to discuss lobbying, examining diverse tactics through various case studies. We learned that successful policy implementation should be iterative and adapt to feedback rather than follow a rigid sequential process.

Key strategies discussed include investing in relationships and gathering intelligence to inform policy efforts. A clear, unified solution is crucial, as is the ability to act as a policy entrepreneur, which involves being innovative, resourceful, and persuasive. Understanding the political and bureaucratic landscape is vital, including recognizing the key decision-makers. We also touched on the power of reframing issues to resonate with broader audiences and the role of media in amplifying messages, using hooks like junk food's impact on children and leveraging personal stories for greater impact.

A guest speaker highlighted the critical role of government consulting, noting that governments often lack the funds for in-house expertise and specialization. Consulting provides insights into what other governments are doing and can be less costly in the long run, despite high hourly rates.

Economic Impact Assessment

In our PPOL609: Decision Analysis lecture on Economic Impact Assessment (EIA), we learned that EIAs are quantitative analyses predicting the economic impact of policy changes or capital projects, crucial when significant indirect impacts are anticipated. EIAs estimate labor and capital earnings, GDP, and resource demand shifts, using models like the Input-Output (I/O) and Computational General Equilibrium (CGE).

We discussed the simplicity of I/O models, which use fixed co-efficient ratios to trace the economic impacts of a demand shock through various sectors. While CGE models are founded on established economic theories of market equilibrium. Critiques of I/O models often center on their simplicity assumptions and potential for misinterpretation, leading many academics to favor the more robust CGE framework.

Despite this, we agreeded that for small shocks, I/O models could approximate CGE results, offering cost-effective distributional analysis across sectors. However, CGE models are recognized for their adherence to economic theory and internal consistency, even though they require a host of assumptions, which could be both an asset and a liability as the modeler needs to know what they are doing and make decisions on said assumptions.

Electricity Policy and Net Zero

In our SDEV633: Energy and Climate Policy class, discussed Canadian electricty policy and the Federal Clean Electricty Regulation (CER) requiring the nation to achieve net-zero emissions from the electricity grid by 2035.

As the demand for electricity surges Canada's electricity generation capacity is poised to grow significantly. Studies project an increase by 2.2 to 3.4 times from today's levels to meet the demands of a net-zero future. Renewables are becoming the cost-effective option for electricty generation with prices plummeting as capacity scales up. In provinces like Alberta and Ontario, solar and wind generation costs are undercutting traditional gas generation, paving the way for a cost-efficient, renewable-driven grid.

Canada is looking to invest in a range of solutions—from supply-side expansions to demand-side efficiency and smarter, more adaptive grid systems. Energy policies will need to address peak shifting, energy storage, and maintaining energy sovereignty—all while ensuring that consumer choices are affordable, reliable and sustainable.

*Photo: Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park Hopewell Cape, NB taken Aug/13 2022

Summit photo