The 1989 Labour Market Activity Survey (LMAS) is used to examine the wage implications of membership in groups distinguished by gender and visible minority status. White men, minority men, white women and minority women earn an average hourly wage of $14.73, $12.48, $11.33 and $10.97,...

Knowledge of an additional language may be associated with enhanced earnings because of its actual value in the workplace, or its value as a screen for ability. Previously available data did not indicate whether bilingualism was actually practiced. The 2001 Census reports, for the first time,...

Data from Canada's 1986-87 Labour Market Activity Survey (LMAS) are used to study the pattern of employment flows, and to construct various estimates of average job duration. A subsample of 58,458 observed jobs are classified according to their start dates and their termination date, if any....

This paper analyzes the evolution of the labour market participation rate of men and women age 15 to 24 from 1976 to 1998. The main question being asked is why youth participation rates fell precipitously during the 1990s? We look at two dimensions of this decline: changes in the fraction of...

Considerable concern has recently been expressed worldwide about growing income inequality. Much of the discussion, though, has been in general terms and focused on the US experience. To understand whether and how Canada ought to respond to this development, we need to be clear on the facts....

We examine the evolution of the returns to human capital in Canada over the period 1980-2005. Our main finding is that returns to education increased substantially for Canadian men, contrary to conclusions reached previously. Most of this rise took place in the early 1980s and since 1995....