The Big Fix - (McGill Max Bell Lectures) by Denise Hearn & Vass Bednar (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

More and more of the Canadian economy is dominated by a handful of huge companies that control what we buy, how we work, and which other businesses can or can't thrive.

Beyond the obvious examples of airlines, telcos, grocery chains, and banks, The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians shows how corporate concentration is growing across many industries, leading to higher prices for consumers, lower worker's wages, more inequality, fewer startups, less innovation, and lower growth and productivity.

In this galvanizing book, Hearn and Bednar show how companies perpetuate the illusion of rivalry to disguise their dominance, and how they've shifted from competing within industries to accumulating assets across industries, further entrenching their power. The authors coach readers on how to think about competition, how markets are made and remade, and how the right set of attitudes and policies reduce corporate power and rebalance it throughout the economy.

The future of Canada's economy is up for grabs, and The Big Fix shows how the country can achieve a more innovative, productive, and livable economy for all Canadians.

Review Quotes

"Smart and sassy, readable and relatable, Denise Hearn and Vass Bednar hit it out of the park with The Big Fix." - Armine Yalnizyan, Economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Work

"Denise and Vass provide an insightful and highly readable array of contemporary stories that illuminates why you should care about competition policy." - Jim Balsillie, founder and chair of the Centre for International Governance Innovation

"Required reading for policymakers, CEOs and everyone else." - Benjamin Bergen, President of the Council of Canadian Innovators

"Canada sets an example in so many ways - but not when it comes to its tolerance of monopoly and high prices. This fascinating volume explains all the tricks of the trade, and how and why Canada must do better." - Tim Wu, former Special Assistant to President Biden for Technology and Competition Policy