About the Authors

Cynthia Ramsay is a consulting economist, editorial writer, and host of a Vancouver radio talk-show. Ms. Ramsay was The Fraser Institute’s Senior Health Economist from 1993 to April 1998. She is co-author and co-editor of Healthy Incentives: Canadian Health Reform in an International Context, the Institute’s most recent book on health care reform, and author of Medical Savings Accounts: Universal, Accessible, Portable, Comprehensive Health Care for Canadians. Ms. Ramsay has written several articles that have contributed to the health care debate and she has spoken to groups in Canada and the United States on the necessity of market-based health care reform. From 1990 to 1992, Ms. Ramsay worked for Statistics Canada as an economic analyst. She received her B.A. (Honours) in Economics from Carleton University, and her M.A. in Economics from Simon Fraser University.

Michael Walker is an economist, journalist, broadcaster, consultant, university lecturer, and public speaker. Since 1974, he has directed the activities of the Fraser Institute. Before that, he taught at the University of Western Ontario and Carleton University and was employed at the Bank of Canada and the Federal Department of Finance. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Western Ontario and his B.A. at St. Francis Xavier University.
    As an economist, he has written or edited 40 books on economic topics. His articles on technical economic subjects have appeared in professional journals in Canada, the United States, and Europe. As a journalist, he has written over 675 articles, which have appeared in some 60 newspapers. As a broadcaster, Dr. Walker has written and delivered some 2,000 radio broadcasts on economic topics and appeared on radio and television programs in Canada, the United States, and Latin America. In 1992, he was awarded the Colin M. Brown Freedom Medal by the National Citizens Coalition.

Jared Alexander worked as a student intern at The Fraser Institute in the summer of 1997. Since then, he has been doing research and writing for projects in health care policy at the Institute. He is currently completing an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Economics at Simon Fraser University.

Acknowledgements

The Fraser Institute thanks the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation for their support of this project.