We study the relationship between age and literacy skills in Canada, Norway and the U.S. – countries that represent a wide range of literacy outcomes -- using data from the 1994 and 2003 International Adult Literacy Surveys. In cross-sectional data there is a weak negative partial...

Literacy is central to the improvement and betterment of any society. Individuals cannot fully engage in social and political discourse, and are more likely to become less-than-equals in society without basic literacy to pursue their goals. On the individual level, more literate individuals tend...

In this paper we first analyze the determinants of training using data from the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS). We find that education plays a key role in the receipt of all forms of training except in the case of employer-sponsored training. We also find substantial...

This paper examines how middle-class earnings in Canada have changed between 1970 and 2005 using Census microdata. Middle-class earnings are defined as workers’ earnings between 50 and 150 percent of the median or as earnings between the 20th and 80th percentile earnings. The analysis...

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...