Raising Canadian Living Standards: A Framework for Analysis

Andrew Sharpe

International Productivity Monitor, 2002, vol. 5, 23-40

Abstract: The living standards in Canada, defined as real GDP per capita, declined relative to those in the United States in the 1990s. A key challenge facing Canadians is the reversal of this situation. In this article, Andrew Sharpe of the Centre for the Study of Living Standards develops a framework for the analysis of living standards and outlines a strategy to raise living standards. Sharpe first examines trends in and determinants of living standards in Canada. He finds that over the 1946-2001 period productivity growth accounted for all the growth in living standards. Large declines in average hours worked reduced living standard growth, but increased labour force participation and a more favourable demographic structure made a positive contribution. Sharpe notes that living standards could be increased by lower unemployment, greater labour force participation, and longer working time, but points out that there is little scope for long-term improvement from these sources. Rather, he argues, productivity growth represents the only sustained avenue for living standards growth. With our level of aggregate labour productivity 16 per cent below the US level, Canada has the potential to reduce much of the productivity gap with the United States and possibly even to eliminate it completely. Such a development would allow Canadians to achieve US levels of real GDP pr capita, or if they so chose, to take the productivity gains in the form of increased leisure.

Keywords: Canada; United States; Living Standards; Quality of Life; Well-being; Wellbeing; Labour Productivity; Labor Productivity; Productivity; Income Gap; Income; Gap; Growth; Increase; Improve; Target; Labour Force Participation; Participation; Working Age; Demographic; Fertility; Age (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E66 J11 J24 O51 O57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.csls.ca/ipm/5/sharpe-e.pdf (application/pdf)
http://www.csls.ca/ipm/5/sharpe-f.pdf version en francais, pp:25-43 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:5:y:2002:2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.csls.ca

Access Statistics for this article

International Productivity Monitor is currently edited by Andrew Sharpe, Executive Director

More articles in International Productivity Monitor from Centre for the Study of Living Standards 170 Laurier Ave. W, Suite 604, Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CSLS ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).