Richard E. Mueller

Public–private sector wage differentials in Canada: evidence from quantile regressions

Abstract Quantile regressions are used to estimate the size of the public sector wage premium in Canada. We find that public sector rent payments tend to be highest for federal government employees, females, and individuals at the lower tail of the wage distribution.

The Transition from Paid to Self-Employment in Canada: The Importance of Push Factors

The share of self-employment in total employment has been growing in Canada throughout the 1990s. Recent research for Canada and elsewhere suggests that some workers may be ‘pushed’ into self-employment as a response to inadequate opportunities in the paid sector. Examining transitions from paid work to selfemployment using the Labour Market Activity Survey, this push hypothesis is tested using a number of indicators of the economic opportunities facing the newly selfemployed. It is found: (i) longer spells of joblessness favour self-employment, (ii) workers who collect unemployment benefits between jobs are less likely to become self-employed than are workers who did not, (iii) workers who left their previous, paid jobs involuntarily - i.e., due to layoff - were more likely to become selfemployed than those who left voluntarily, but less likely than workers who specified personal reasons for leaving, and (iv) self-employment decisions are independent of the health of the labour market as measured by the unemployment rate. These results are generally consistent with the push hypothesis but provide more ambiguous evidence than found in some other studies.

North American Migration: Returns to Skill, Border Effects, and Mobility Costs

Utilizing a utility-maximizing, Roy-type, discrete choice model of worker location in Canadian provinces and U.S. states that incorporates returns to skill, amenities, fixed costs, distance, language, and border effects, we find that individuals with higher skills migrate to areas with higher returns and that the 49th parallel attenuates migration. Simulations indicate that equalizing returns in the two countries has a modest effect on cross-country migration; however, reductions in border effects tend to have large nonlinear effects on it. Our results confirm the qualitative results of previous research emphasizing the importance of returns to skill and border effects in migration decisions.

Public- and Private-Sector Wage Differentials in Canada Revisited

Using a variety of techniques, we estimate the wage premium for federal, provincial, and municipal public-sector employees in Canada. We find that females in the public sector are paid a wage premium, with federal government workers enjoying the highest rents, followed by local and provincial public-sector employees. Estimates for males suggest that rent payments are comparably less, but results are inconclusive.

The Effects of Family Income, Parental Education and Other Background Factors on Access to Post‐Secondary Education in Canada: Evidence from the YITS

This paper exploits the unprecedented rich information available in the Canadian Youth in Transition Survey, Sample A (YITS‐A) to investigate issues related to access to postsecondary education (PSE). The questions we ask are basically two‐fold: i) What are the various influences on access to PSE of an individual’s background, including more traditional measures such as family income and parental education, as well as a broader set of measures such as high school grades, social/academic “engagement,” and other cognitive and behavioural influences? and ii) How does including such a more extensive set of variables than has been possible in previous studies change the estimated effects of the more conventionally measured family/parental influences (family income and parental education) on access to PSE, and thus indicate how much of the latter influences operate through (or otherwise proxy) the effects of the broader set of variables, thereby isolating the direct – as opposed to indirect – influence of these traditional measures on access? Utilizing multinomial logit models to capture the choice of level of PSE (i.e., college versus university) we find that parental income is positively related to university attendance, while having only a minor effect on college, but this effect is greatly diminished once parental education is included in the estimation. Similarly, the importance of parental education to university attendance is somewhat diminished once certain measures of high school grades, academic “engagement,” and a standardised reading test score are included – although, interestingly, these additional variables have little further affect on the family income influences. These results thus support other recent work which points to the importance of addressing earlier cognitive and behavioural influences, and family “culture” more generally as captured by parental education, in effecting change in the rates and patterns of participation in PSE – although family income does remain a significant independent factor, albeit of significantly reduced influence.

A Methodology for Estimating Returns to Skills for Canadian Provinces and U.S. States

Differences in both regional skill prices and skill mix can explain interregional variations in wage distributions. We control for interregional differences in skill mix that permit us to compute key parameters of regional wage distributions including regional returns to skills. In addition to setting forth the methods in detail, we also present estimates for 48 U.S. states and 10 Canadian provinces. For both males and females, we find that regional mean wages (with controls for skills mix) in the U.S. and Canada are similar, but that the returns to skills are systematically higher in the U.S.

The completion behaviour of registered apprentices in Canada: who continues, who quits, and who completes programs?

BackgroundThe number of registered apprentices in Canada more than doubled between 1995 and 2007, yet successful completion of apprenticeship programs increased by only about one-third as much. Uncovering the factors related to low completion rates is a necessary first step to ensuring that today’s skilled labour is replaced in the future.MethodsThis study utilizes a series of multinomial probit models and the 2007 National Apprenticeship Survey (NAS) to investigate the completion behaviour of individuals enrolled in apprenticeship programs. These behaviours include continuing, discontinuing (or quitting), and completing programs. The NAS contains detailed demographic information regarding respondents’ backgrounds and the characteristics of apprenticeship programs.ResultsProgram completion is positively related to a variety of demographic characteristics, including being married and having completed at least a high school education prior to beginning an apprenticeship. Males and females have similar completion probabilities. Completion is negatively related to time in the apprenticeship program (beyond the normal program length) and the number of employers during training. Type of technical training and having a journeyperson always present enhance the probability of completion. The regional unemployment rate has little effect on whether an individual completes an apprenticeship program or not. There are also large provincial and trade group differences.ConclusionsAlthough this research has identified a number of factors correlated with apprenticeship completion, further research could address the benefits of completion such as wages and probability of employment. A more detailed examination of the variety of obstacles encountered by apprentices during training may also be useful in redesigning programs to enhance completion.

Access to Post- Secondary Education in Canada Among the Children of Canadian Immigrants

This paper exploits the extremely rich Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) data to investigate access to post‐secondary education (PSE) among the children of immigrants in Canada. The YITS respondents considered to be the children of immigrants in this paper include: i) those who came to this country as immigrants themselves but arrived early enough to complete their primary schooling and take advantage of PSE opportunities in Canada and ii) those who were born in Canada to parents who were immigrants. The results show that these first and second generation immigrants are, overall, considerably more likely to attend PSE than non‐immigrant youth, that these differences are driven principally by higher university participation rates rather than by college attendance, and that the patterns vary a great deal by source country. The immigrant differences are partly explained by certain demographic characteristics (e.g., province of residence and living in a city), by immigrants’ parents’ relatively high education levels, and by other observable factors such as parental aspirations regarding their children’s education. However, substantial differences.

Assessing the Importance of Cultural Capital on Post-Secondary Education Attendance in Canada.

Abstract This paper extends the current literature on access to post-secondary education by investigating the role played by various family background characteristics related to the home environment and family habits and behaviours. Exploiting the extraordinary richness of the Youth in Transition Survey in this regard, we include whether the family ate dinner together, whether they discussed current affairs, and how often their children went to concerts – and if so, what kind of concerts. Many of these factors are found to have a significant relationship with attending post-secondary education, university in particular. Furthermore, these factors are in addition to – and at least to some degree independent of – more conventional influences such as parental education and family income. With appeal to the paradigm of ‘cultural capital’ – which refers to the knowledge, experiences, and connections which help individuals succeed in life – these results indicate how advantages in accessing higher levels of education accrue to those from families that are rich in this kind of asset, while others are left behind.

Fiscal Policy, Returns to Skills, and Canada-US Migration: Evidence from the Late 1990s

Dans cet article, nous présentons un modèle logit hiérarchique des migrations entre 59 régions du Canada et des États-Unis que nous avons conçu grâce à plus de 70 000 microdonnées portant sur les travailleurs de tous les déciles de la répartition des compétences que comportaient les recensements canadiens et américains de 2000/2001, puis nous faisons des estimations et des simulations. En combinant les données individuelles et et les données régionales, nous pouvons analyser les effets des différences de politiques fiscales des deux pays sur les migrations des travailleurs. Comme nous savons quels sont les travailleurs hautement qualifiés, nous pouvons simuler les effets que des changements en matière d’impôt (en présupposant des budgets équilibrés) auraient autant sur la tendance des individus à migrer que sur l’importance des courants migratoires. Ces simulations suggèrent qu’une augmentation du rendement des compétences après impôt au Canada ainsi que la réduction, au niveau moyen américain, du taux moyen d’imposition canadien (avec compensation des réductions des dépenses pour maintenir la neutralité budgétaire) réduiraient effectivement les migrations vers les États-Unis, particulièrement parmi les travailleurs hautement qualifiés. Toutefois, les réductions des taux d’imposition et des dépenses publiques nécessaires pour produire ce résultat étant relativement élevées, cela soulèverait des questions touchant des politiques publiques importantes dans d’autres domaines.