A Government Reinvented: A Study of Alberta's Deficit Elimination Program

This volume is the culmination of an objective, in-depth study of the aggressive attack on the Alberta deficit launched by Premier Ralph Klein's government in 1993. Klein's was the first Canadian province to introduce drastic measures to eliminate its deficit-solely by means of expenditure cuts. After only two years, a $3.4 billion deficit had become a $958 million surplus. A Government Reinvented answers the question, 'How was this goal achieved so quickly?'

The research needed to answer this question was distributed among nine experts in the fields of economics, education, and political science. The resulting papers were presented and critiqued at a conference in Banff, Alberta in November 1995.

A Government Reinvented features the revised research papers, with parallel commentaries by specialists in economics, law, and public administration. The book examines not only the Klein government's specific cost-cutting strategies, but also general topics such as: theories of government budgeting and bureaucracy, institutional design and public policy, and the delivery of government services.

This volume provides an objective look at the Alberta deficit reduction experience in order to identify the most important lessons that were learned.

all at the University of Calgary