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- 1. Access to the Information Highway ArchivedArticles and reports: 63F0002X1996009Description:
Technological advances and changes in the regulatory environment lead to convergence between the telecommunications, broadcasting and computer services sectors. The Information Highway will allow people to search for employment, pay their bills, book their travel arrangements, purchase goods and services, consult civil service advisors, use interactive educational and entertainment services and much more from their home. The Information Highway Advisory Council report recommends universal access at affordable prices as a policy objective, so that every Canadian, and not just a privileged few, may enjoy the benefits.
Telephone and cable networks are expected to be the backbone of the Information Highway infrastructure. However, households need to have terminals, such as computers and modems, which will be connected to the networks. The paper analyzes the characteristics of those Canadian households that have already made the decision to purchase and use these terminal devices. Telephone, cable, computer and modem penetration rates are examined with respect to several economic and socio-demographic variables, such as income, education, employment status, age, family composition, provincial and residential location. This helps to identify the major determinants behind these choices which, in turn, can assist the design of policies towards universal access. Telephone penetration is nearly complete and cable penetration is quite high. Although computer and modem penetration rates are much lower they are increasing fast. There is a very strong relationship between household income and computer and modem penetration rates, and education exerts an influence independent of income. Age has had important effects that are independent of income, and its influence will continue to be felt as the age distribution of the population changes in the future. Household composition also plays a role, and households in urban areas are better equipped than households in rural areas.
Release date: 1998-11-20 - Articles and reports: 63F0002X1998014Description:
This article utilizes information on business startups and closures to examine change and volatility in the service economy. Industries on the cutting edge of technology experience more volatility and are also the fastest growing. Many firms enter the business services and communication industries to seize opportunities offered by technological advances but many are also forced out by the stiff competition. The information-intensive industries (software developers and advertising services firms) are almost twice as volatile as the knowledge-based industries. The latter have low business entry and exit rates because the amount of human capital required to set up a professional practice is large and takes years to acquire.
Release date: 1998-11-20 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M1998126Geography: CanadaDescription:
Controlling for observable worker attributes, we find that computer use is associated with a wage premium of at most 14%. Following Dinardo and Pischke (1997), we examine the wage premium associated with other tools used on the job. While these authors find a significant wage premium for the use of pencils or for sitting down while working, we find a substantial and robust wage premium for the use of a fax machine. Using a variety of reasonable specifications of wage equations including both a computer use indicator and a fax use indicator, we consistently find a stronger effect for fax machines than for computers. Along with Dinardo and Pischke (1997), we argue that workers who use computers earn more than other employees not because of their computing skills per se, but rather because they have more other unobserved skills - innate or learned through school - than other employees.
Release date: 1998-10-27 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M1998098Geography: CanadaDescription:
The 1980s and 1990s have seen a rising share of skilled labour in total employment in the manufacturing sector of Canada. At the same time, the wage premium for skilled workers has increased, thereby increasing the inequality between skilled and unskilled workers. There is a disagreement about the causes of these changes. Several hypotheses have been offered to explain them-increased international competition, changes in the relative supply of more-skilled versus less-skilled workers, and skilled-augmenting technological change. This paper analyzes the nature, pattern and causes of the shifts in the composition of employment in manufacturing. The paper describes the composition of employment in manufacturing. It focuses on the direction and magnitude of shifts in the proportion of nonproduction workers employed within manufacturing and across sectors within manufacturing. It also investigates the extent to which wage differentials between nonproduction and production workers have widened in the 1980s. In addition, it assesses the extent to which these changes are associated with trade and technology use. The results indicate that the rising wage differentials are associated with both increased trade intensity and the types of technologies that are being used in the plant.
Release date: 1998-05-06
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- 1. Access to the Information Highway ArchivedArticles and reports: 63F0002X1996009Description:
Technological advances and changes in the regulatory environment lead to convergence between the telecommunications, broadcasting and computer services sectors. The Information Highway will allow people to search for employment, pay their bills, book their travel arrangements, purchase goods and services, consult civil service advisors, use interactive educational and entertainment services and much more from their home. The Information Highway Advisory Council report recommends universal access at affordable prices as a policy objective, so that every Canadian, and not just a privileged few, may enjoy the benefits.
Telephone and cable networks are expected to be the backbone of the Information Highway infrastructure. However, households need to have terminals, such as computers and modems, which will be connected to the networks. The paper analyzes the characteristics of those Canadian households that have already made the decision to purchase and use these terminal devices. Telephone, cable, computer and modem penetration rates are examined with respect to several economic and socio-demographic variables, such as income, education, employment status, age, family composition, provincial and residential location. This helps to identify the major determinants behind these choices which, in turn, can assist the design of policies towards universal access. Telephone penetration is nearly complete and cable penetration is quite high. Although computer and modem penetration rates are much lower they are increasing fast. There is a very strong relationship between household income and computer and modem penetration rates, and education exerts an influence independent of income. Age has had important effects that are independent of income, and its influence will continue to be felt as the age distribution of the population changes in the future. Household composition also plays a role, and households in urban areas are better equipped than households in rural areas.
Release date: 1998-11-20 - Articles and reports: 63F0002X1998014Description:
This article utilizes information on business startups and closures to examine change and volatility in the service economy. Industries on the cutting edge of technology experience more volatility and are also the fastest growing. Many firms enter the business services and communication industries to seize opportunities offered by technological advances but many are also forced out by the stiff competition. The information-intensive industries (software developers and advertising services firms) are almost twice as volatile as the knowledge-based industries. The latter have low business entry and exit rates because the amount of human capital required to set up a professional practice is large and takes years to acquire.
Release date: 1998-11-20 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M1998126Geography: CanadaDescription:
Controlling for observable worker attributes, we find that computer use is associated with a wage premium of at most 14%. Following Dinardo and Pischke (1997), we examine the wage premium associated with other tools used on the job. While these authors find a significant wage premium for the use of pencils or for sitting down while working, we find a substantial and robust wage premium for the use of a fax machine. Using a variety of reasonable specifications of wage equations including both a computer use indicator and a fax use indicator, we consistently find a stronger effect for fax machines than for computers. Along with Dinardo and Pischke (1997), we argue that workers who use computers earn more than other employees not because of their computing skills per se, but rather because they have more other unobserved skills - innate or learned through school - than other employees.
Release date: 1998-10-27 - Articles and reports: 11F0019M1998098Geography: CanadaDescription:
The 1980s and 1990s have seen a rising share of skilled labour in total employment in the manufacturing sector of Canada. At the same time, the wage premium for skilled workers has increased, thereby increasing the inequality between skilled and unskilled workers. There is a disagreement about the causes of these changes. Several hypotheses have been offered to explain them-increased international competition, changes in the relative supply of more-skilled versus less-skilled workers, and skilled-augmenting technological change. This paper analyzes the nature, pattern and causes of the shifts in the composition of employment in manufacturing. The paper describes the composition of employment in manufacturing. It focuses on the direction and magnitude of shifts in the proportion of nonproduction workers employed within manufacturing and across sectors within manufacturing. It also investigates the extent to which wage differentials between nonproduction and production workers have widened in the 1980s. In addition, it assesses the extent to which these changes are associated with trade and technology use. The results indicate that the rising wage differentials are associated with both increased trade intensity and the types of technologies that are being used in the plant.
Release date: 1998-05-06
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