J.C. Herbert Emery

When working is not enough: food insecurity in the Canadian labour force

OBJECTIVE Food insecurity, lack of access to food due to financial constraints, is highly associated with poor health outcomes. Households dependent on social assistance are at increased risk of experiencing food insecurity, but food insecurity has also been reported in households reporting their main source of income from employment/wages (working households). The objective of the present study was to examine the correlates of food insecurity among households reliant on employment income. DESIGN Working households reporting food insecurity were studied through analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey, 2007-2008, employing descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Food insecurity was measured using the Household Food Security Survey Module; all provinces participated. SETTING Canada. SUBJECTS Canadian households where main income was derived through labour force participation. Social assistance recipients were excluded. RESULTS For the period 2007-2008, 4% of working households reported food insecurity. Canadian households reliant on primary earners with less education and lower incomes were significantly more likely to experience food insecurity; these differences were accentuated across some industry sectors. Residence in Quebec was protective. Working households experiencing food insecurity were more likely to include earners reporting multiples jobs and higher job stress. Visible minority workers with comparable education levels experienced higher rates of food insecurity than European-origin workers. CONCLUSIONS Reliance on employment income does not eliminate food insecurity for a significant proportion of households, and disproportionately so for households with racialized minority workers. Increases in work stress may increase the susceptibility to poor health outcomes of workers residing in households reporting food insecurity.

Long-Term Consequences of Natural Resource Booms for Human Capital Accumulation

Tight labor markets driven by resource booms could increase the opportunity cost of schooling and crowd out human capital formation. For oil-producing economies such as the Province of Alberta, the OPEC oil shocks during the period from 1973 to 1981 may have had an adverse long-term effect on the productivity of the labor force if the oil boom resulted in workers reducing their ultimate investment in human capital rather than merely altering the timing of schooling. The authors analyze the effect of this decade-long oil boom on the long-term human capital investments and productivity for Alberta birth cohorts that were of normal schooling ages before, during, and after the oil boom. Their findings suggest that resource booms may change the timing of schooling but they do not reduce the total accumulation of human capital.

Wealth and the demand for life insurance: evidence from Ontario, 1892

Abstract Our analysis of the life insurance holdings of male probated decedents in Ontario in 1892 demonstrates a negative correlation between the level of personal wealth and the demand for life insurance. Consistent with the theoretical literature on the demand for life insurance, and counter to the findings in much of the empirical literature, self-insurance was a substitute for market purchases of life insurance where self-insurance capabilities are a by-product of wealth accumulation. Our evidence suggests that households primarily demanded life insurance when they lacked accumulated reserves, or wealth, for self-insurance, often early in the life cycle. The growth of the life insurance industry reflected the growth of urban population relative to farming and an increased dependence on the head of household’s earnings.

The association between amalgam dental surfaces and urinary mercury levels in a sample of Albertans, a prevalence study

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to quantify the relationship between number of dental amalgam surfaces and urinary mercury levels.MethodsThis study uses participant data from a large philanthropic chronic disease prevention program in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Urine samples were analysed for mercury levels (measured in μg/g-creatinine). T-tests were used to determine if differences in urine mercury were statistically significant between persons with no dental amalgam surfaces and one or more dental amalgam surfaces. Linear regression was used to estimate the change in urinary mercury per amalgam surface.ResultsUrinary mercury levels were statistically significantly higher in participants with amalgam surfaces, with an average difference of 0.55 μg/g-creatinine. Per amalgam surface, we estimated an expected increase of 0.04 μg/g-creatinine. Measured urinary mercury levels were also statistically significantly higher in participants with dental amalgam surfaces following the oral administration of 2,3-dimercaptopropane-l-sulfonate (DMPS) and meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) which are used to mobilize mercury from the blood and tissues.DiscussionOur estimates indicate that an individual with seven or more dental amalgam surfaces has 30% to 50% higher urinary mercury levels than an individual without amalgams. This is consistent with past literature that has identified seven amalgam surfaces as an unsafe level of exposure to mercury vapor. Our analysis suggests that continued use of silver amalgam dental fillings for restorative dentistry is a non-negligible, unnecessary source of mercury exposure considering the availability of composite resin alternatives.

The Value of Caregiver Time: Costs of Support and Care for Individuals Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder

When a child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, the significance of the impact that diagnosis can have on his or her family’s life is incalculable, except in one respect: cost. If that child is severely impacted and requires constant and lifelong supports, then the value of caregiver time required to support that individual is approximately

Evidence of the Association between Household Food Insecurity and Heating Cost Inflation in Canada, 1998–2001

5.5 million higher than that for someone without autism. An autism diagnosis of a high-needs child at age two represents the equivalent of telling the family that they must make an immediate lump-sum investment on that day of

A Path Analysis of Recurrently Food-Insecure Canadians Discerns Employment, Income, and Negative Health Effects

1.6 million, invested at a five-per-cent return, to pay for the lifetime costs of care and support their loved one will require. And that amount does not even account for added professional services, such as speech therapists, psychologists, and occupational therapists, or additional out-of-pocket expenses that may be required, such as special equipment or diets. Autism is the most common neurological condition diagnosed in children and it is now estimated that one in 88 children will be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Yet, across Canada, there are significant gaps in the publicly provided support system, leaving the cost burden to be picked up by families. In the case of those individuals requiring constant support, 24 hours a day, every day, the cost of hiring caregivers alone would require an annual income of

Canadian Economics in Decline: Implications for Canada's Economics Journals

200,000 — before a family even begins to pay for shelter, clothing, groceries and other basic necessities. Already families with severe high-needs children are more likely to experience lower income than they might otherwise, due to the extra care commitment their loved one requires. Only a very few families will have the means to afford to pay for total care. So, in most cases, the responsibility for care falls largely, if not entirely, on the family, or in a worst-case scenario, the autistic individual is left with inadequate care. Autism is an expensive condition and governments may underestimate the full cost of community-based supports needed for the vast range of unique needs of those living with autism. A scan of provincial programs finds a patchwork of unequal and incomplete supports for individuals living with autism spectrum disorders. Gaps are particularly evident once individuals leave the public school system, where they are at least provided with some form of day support. Sufficient adult day supports, evening and night supports, quality group homes, the availability of properly trained caregivers and respite services, recreational activities, post-secondary opportunities and employment supports all suffer varying levels of inadequacy across the country. As autism becomes increasingly prevalent, continuing to rely largely on family supports where community services are fragmented or unavailable is not a sustainable approach. Canadian policy-makers will need to consider the costs of a growing and aging population of individuals living with autism who need a range of supports so that adequate quality of care and a decent quality of life are enjoyed by many who remain some of this country’s most vulnerable citizens.

Child care: Implications for overweight/obesity in Canadian children?

Dans cet article, nous analysons différents aspects de l’augmentation de 5,3 points de pourcentage de la prévalence de l’insécurité alimentaire que l’on observe entre 1998–1999 (données de l’Enquête nationale sur la santé de la population) et 2000–2001 (données de l’Enquête sur la santé dans les collectivités canadiennes) au Canada. Nous montrons que cette augmentation touche de façon disproportionnée les provinces de l’Ouest, et en particulier l’Alberta, ainsi que les propriétaires plus que les locataires. Nous calculons également que les différences que l’on observe entre les provinces en ce qui a trait à l’augmentation des frais de chauffage expliquent jusqu’à 61 % des variations de l’augmentation de l’insécurité alimentaire observées entre ces mêmes provinces entre 1988 et 2001.

Labour Shortages in Saskatchewan

This study examined the determinants of recurrent food insecurity as an indicator of persistent poverty. Cohort data were extracted from 1998 to 1999 to 2006 to 2007 of the Canadian National Population Health Survey. A path analysis model examined the direct effects of sociodemographic, employment, and health variables on being recurrently food insecure (one third of the cohort), and their indirect effects mediated through permanent income. Path modeling revealed that less frequent employment and negative health status affected becoming recurrently food insecure through their effects on income. The total effects of these variables conferred additional disadvantage beyond income loss among recurrently food-insecure individuals.