Classification-

As labour markets change, the question arises whether Canada’s immigration policy – and our “point system” in particular – is doing a good job of identifying potential immigrants who will fare well on arrival in Canada.

Canada’s approach to immigration faces major challenges, and requires reform if Canada is to meet the international competition for skilled immigrants, according to a new policy study. In the Policy Study, the authors assess the strengths and weaknesses of the current point system used to...

This paper analyzes persistence and attainment in postsecondary STEM education using data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study. Ability is shown to have a consistent impact on STEM performance. Self-efficacy has large estimated impacts and there is evidence of strong bias...

This paper reconsiders growth regressions from the perspective of Walt Whitman Rostow's classic growth stages framework. We revised Rostow's stages and then code every country that has data available according to the framework. We then estimate growth regression by stage and with interaction...

Pedagogical research shows that teaching methods other than traditional lectures may result in better outcomes. However, lecture remains the dominant method in economics, likely due to high implementation costs of methods shown to be effective in the literature. This paper shows significant...

Criticism of higher education and tight budgets have increased pressure on instructors to consider new pedagogical methods, including extensive use of classroom experiments and online or hybrid/online courses. This study analyzes the impact of different pedagogical methods in six sections of...

Institutions are clearly exogenous to household decisions. Analysis of institutions can thus in theory proceed from the household level and avoid the problem of endogeneity. This assertion is tested through a replication of Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson's (2001) seminal paper. Replication at...

Many historical comparisons of international productivity use measures of labour productivity (output per worker). Differences in labour productivity can be caused by differences in technical efficiency or differences in capital intensity. Moving to measures of total factor productivity allows...

This paper describes a classroom simulation of a simple economy. The simulation is similar in structure to classroom experiments, but it is carried out regularly throughout the term. This repetition allows for a less deterministic simulation and also lets students become comfortable in the...