When the Dow Jones stock index hit an all-time high on March 5, 2013, some commentators said that this surge in share prices indicated a breaking of the psychological barrier faced by markets since the Great Recession. But others noted just how volatile financial markets have been – the...

Income inequality has risen significantly since the 1980s, with the share of income among the top 1% increasing by 27% between 1980 and 2005. While the widening gap between the rich and poor is concerning, CLSRN affiliates Abigail Payne (McMaster University) and Justin Smith (Wilfrid Laurier...

Wage disparity can be driven by a number of different factors. Previous research has found evidence that disadvantaged workers often face a “glass ceilingâ€: a barrier that limits access to high-wage jobs. Because of data limitations, however, researchers have not been able to...

As governments around the world struggle to reign in ballooning public deficits, one area that has been targeted for cost savings has been to increase the age of eligibility for retirement benefits. In Canada, the March 2012 federal budget announced plans to make a transition in the age of...

Recent trends in inequality and poverty across Western Canada, a region known for its energy resources, seem to correspond to movements in energy prices, with much of the rise in inequality and decline in poverty taking place during the energy boom from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. These...

The demand for skilled trade persons in Canada is very strong and new apprenticeship registrations increased by threefold between 1991 and 2007. The number of apprenticeship completions however, did not increase and as a result average completion rates have dropped over the same period. A CLSRN...

Between 1970 and 2005, the share of total earnings in the Canadian labour market going to middle-class workers has fallen significantly, while the earnings share of higher-earnings workers has risen. Is the middle-class being hollowed out? A paper by CLSRN affiliate Charles Beach (Queen’s...

While not speaking either English or French is widely understood to be a serious barrier to employment and gainful remuneration in Canada, a study entitled “The effect of linguistic proximity on the occupational assimilation of immigrant men†(CLSRN Working Paper no. 144) by Alicia...

With the move by women into the paid labour force over the last four decades, and the increasing need to have more than one income to raise a family, parents and employers are increasingly calling on governments to support high-quality non-parental care for young children. Without a doubt,...

The mobility of immigrants’ earnings and their experience in getting ahead in the Canadian labour market are reflection of the general state of economic opportunity in Canada. High or increasing degrees of upward mobility of earnings may indicate increasing opportunities for economic...