Self-employment has risen dramatically in Canada, accounting for a disproportionate share of job growth since the 1980's. Using hitherto-unexploited information on labour force transitions from 13 waves of the Survey of Consumer Finances between 1982 and 1995, we show that the changes in...

North American workers have increasingly turned to self-employment since the 1970's. Analysts who have primarily focused on changes in technology, industrial restructuring and in the demographic composition of the work force as explanations for the rise in self- employment have had limited...

This paper analyzes the outcomes of single mothers who move. I find that the earnings of single mother movers decline sharply relative to stayers in the years before moving. Based on this evidence, I propose a model in which individuals migrate in order to break away from persistent negative...

The role of gender differences in labour market behaviour in determining the UK male-female wage differential is examined using the British Household Panel Study and the general equilibrium job search framework of Bowlus(1997). We find that search behaviour explains 30-35% of the gender wage...

This note derives the optimal compensation contract with subjective evaluation when the principal and agent may not agree regarding performance. The optimal contract takes the form of a bonus payment whenever the principal believes performance is acceptable, but with the payment of a penalty by...

In the first part of this paper a union membership stock-flow growth accounting identity provides detailed descriptions of the impact of 'legal' and 'economic' factors on union density in Canada and the U.S. private sector. In the second part simulations are used to explore the impact of one...