Public Policy at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy | University of Toronto

Whenever governments change policies – whether tax, expenditure, or regulatory policies – there will typically be losers: people or groups who relied upon and invested in physical, financial, or human capital that was made possible, or even deliberately induced, by the pre-reform set of policies. The issue of whether and when to mitigate the costs associated with policy changes, either through explicit government compensation, phased or postponed implementation, or grandfathering, is ubiquitous across the policy landscape. Much of the existing literature covers government takings, yet compensation for expropriation comprises merely a tiny part of the universe of such strategies. Dealing with Losers: The Political Economy of Policy Transitions explores both the normative and political rationales for transition cost mitigation strategies in a wide variety of contexts and explains which strategies might create an aggregate, overall enhancement in societal welfare.

Professor Michael J. Trebilcock highlights the ability of potential losers to mobilize and obstruct socially beneficial changes in the absence of well-crafted transition cost mitigation strategies. He explores the political economy of transition cost mitigation strategies in a wide variety of policy contexts, including public pensions, U.S. home mortgage interest deductions, immigration, trade liberalization, agricultural supply management, and climate change. Finally, Professor Trebilcock suggests transition cost mitigation strategies that enhance the likelihood of socially beneficial reforms.