This book upturns many established ideas regarding the economic and
social history of Quebec, the Canadian province that is home to the
majority of its French population. It places the case of Quebec into the
wider question of convergence in economic history and whether proactive
governments delay or halt convergence.
The period from 1945 to 1960, infamously labelled the Great Gloom
(Grande Noirceur), was in fact a breaking point where the previous
decades of relative decline were overturned - Geloso argues that this
era should be considered the Great Convergence (Grand Rattrapage). In
opposition, the Quiet Revolution that followed after 1960 did not
accelerate these trends. In fact, there are signs of slowing down and
relative decline that appear after the 1970s. The author posits that the
Quiet Revolution sowed the seeds for a growth slowdown by crowding-out
social capital and inciting rent-seeking behaviour on the part of
interest groups.