Many jurisdictions ban teacher strikes on the assumption that they negatively affect student achievement, but there is surprisingly little research on this question. The majority of existing studies make cross section comparisons of the achievement of students who do or do not experience a...

The Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) represents one of the largest transfer programs administered by the Canadian government, representing 4.5 percent of federal transfers to individuals. The UCCB – which provides $100 monthly to parents for every child under six years of age –...

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

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 universities across many western countries, student enrolments in economics discipline rose sharply towards the end of last decade but not in Canada. One reason for this outcome may be the continued perception of Canadian students of a lower economic reward to an economics degree. Using micro...

Bien des gouvernements dans le monde entier luttent pour contenir leurs déficits publics qui gonflent, et l’un des domaines ciblés pour économiser a été d’augmenter l’âge de la disponibilité aux prestations de pension. Au Canada, le budget fédéral de mars 2012 a annoncé des...

Using longitudinal data for Canada, the probability of participating in employer supported course enrollment for mid career workers and the wage impacts of those adult educational investments are analyzed. Probability of participation in employer supported course enrollment is increasing with...

Ce rapport présente une première version du Modèle de Micro-Simulation de l'Université Laval (SimUL) visant à simuler l'évolution de divers indicateurs reliés aux changements démographiques et aux revenus de retraite pour la période 2004-2030 au Québec. SimUL prévoit que la croissance...

Canada’s population has been aging steadily for several decades. In 1976, the median age of men in the population was only 27.2 years, but by 2013, had risen to 39.4 years. The trend reflects both an increase in the life expectancy of Canadians at birth and also the impact of the aging...

Increasing inequality cannot be a long-run steady state – i.e. a trend that can continue indefinitely. Because the bottom 99% and top 1% in the U.S. and Canada have had very different rates of growth of market income among since the 1980s, consumption and savings flows have necessarily...