Income Instability of Lone Parents, Singles and Two-Parent Families in Canada, 1984 to 2004

Rene Morissette and Yuri Ostrovsky

Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series from Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch

Abstract:

This paper examines income instability of lone parents, singles and two-parent families in Canada in the past two decades using tax data. We attempt to answer the following questions: Has there been a widespread increase in earnings instability among lone parents (especially lone mothers) and unattached individuals over the past 20 years? How do the trends in earnings instability among lone parents and unattached individuals compare to the trends among the two-parent families? What is the role of government transfers and the progressive tax system in mitigating differences in earnings instability across different segments of the earnings distribution among the above-mentioned groups? We find little evidence of a widespread increase in earnings instability in the past two decades and show that government transfers play a particularly important role in reducing employment income instability of lone mothers and unattached individuals.

Keywords: Employment insurance; social assistance and other transfers; Income; pensions; spending and wealth; Labour; Low income and inequality; Wages; salaries and other earnings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-03-29
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pbe
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:stc:stcp3e:2007297e

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