Keyword search

Survey sampling to estimate a Consumer Price Index (CPI) is quite complicated, generally requiring a combination of data from at least two surveys: one giving prices, one giving expenditure weights. Fundamentally different approaches to the sampling process - probability sampling and purposive sampling - have each been strongly advocated and are used by different countries in the collection of price data. By constructing a small "world" of purchases and prices from scanner data on cereal and then simulating various sampling and estimation techniques, we compare the results of two design and estimation approaches: the probability approach of the United States and the purposive approach of the United Kingdom. For the same amount of information collected, but given the use of different estimators, the United Kingdom's methods appear to offer better overall accuracy in targeting a population superlative consumer price index.

This report provides trends on public school enrolments, educators and expenditures. It uses figures provided by provincial and territorial departments of education on public elementary and secondary schools.

This survey analyzes the highlights of consumer prices in 2005 focusing on the various components of the Consumer Price Index such as energy, services and durable goods, This study also looks at the provincial dimension and compares Canadian prices to other countries.

Since the early 1990s, increased attention has been focused on the possibility that the rate of inflation may be being overstated as a result of measurement biases in the estimation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). One source of this possible error is caused by outlet substitution bias. This type of distortion can result when consumers shift their patronage from one retail outlet to another. As superstores and warehouse type stores continue to open and capture a larger share of the market, the existing CPI sample could become increasingly unrepresentative. If the prices are lower at the new outlets and this decrease in costs is not accurately captured in the CPI, the index will exhibit an upward bias.

This study looks at the education costs and financial support for 18 to 24 year old students (17 to 24 in Quebec) pursuing postsecondary studies in Canada during the 2001-2002 academic year. Taking into account the basic costs of postsecondary programs (tuition fees, books and supplies), this study also looks at how students pay for their studies.

This paper provides a concise overview in plain language of the concept of productivity by explaining its relevance and usefulness. This paper is intended for users of the Canadian Productivity Accounts who wish to learn more about productivity concepts, in simple terms.

Canada has reverted to its more traditional orientation over the last three years, as prophecies of a new, tech-driven economy have not been realized. Surging demand and prices for energy and mining products was the dominant theme of the year. All regions benefited from these changes.

This paper examines the role of human capital accumulation in explaining the relative levels of income per capita across Canadian provinces. We use principally two different types of human capital indicators based respectively on university attainment and literacy test scores. A synthetic time series of the average literacy level of labour market entrants for each period between 1951 and 2001 is constructed from the demographic profile of literacy test scores taken from the 2003 Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey. The percentage of the working-age population holding a university degree is available since 1951 from the census figures. Our main results are the following. First, both human capital indicators are strong predictors of the relative levels of per capita income (minus government transfers) across provinces, along with the relative rates of urbanization and specific shocks in Alberta and Quebec. Second, the skills acquired by one extra year of schooling result in an increase in per capita income of around 7.3 percent. Third, we find that our literacy indicator does not outperform the university attainment indicator. This contrasts sharply with our recent result found at the cross-country level (Coulombe, Tremblay, and Marchand [2004]) and suggests substantial measurement error in cross-country schooling data. Fourth, by focusing on regional economies that have similar levels of social infrastructure and social development, our analysis provides potentially more reliable estimates of the contribution of human capital accumulation to relative living standards.

This report provides trends on public school enrolments, educators and expenditures. It uses figures provided by provincial and territorial departments of education on public elementary and secondary schools.

Survey sampling to estimate a Consumer Price Index (CPI) is quite complicated, generally requiring a combination of data from at least two surveys: one giving prices, one giving expenditure weights. Fundamentally different approaches to the sampling process - probability sampling and purposive sampling - have each been strongly advocated and are used by different countries in the collection of price data. By constructing a small "world" of purchases and prices from scanner data on cereal and then simulating various sampling and estimation techniques, we compare the results of two design and estimation approaches: the probability approach of the United States and the purposive approach of the United Kingdom. For the same amount of information collected, but given the use of different estimators, the United Kingdom's methods appear to offer better overall accuracy in targeting a population superlative consumer price index.

This survey analyzes the highlights of consumer prices in 2005 focusing on the various components of the Consumer Price Index such as energy, services and durable goods, This study also looks at the provincial dimension and compares Canadian prices to other countries.

Since the early 1990s, increased attention has been focused on the possibility that the rate of inflation may be being overstated as a result of measurement biases in the estimation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). One source of this possible error is caused by outlet substitution bias. This type of distortion can result when consumers shift their patronage from one retail outlet to another. As superstores and warehouse type stores continue to open and capture a larger share of the market, the existing CPI sample could become increasingly unrepresentative. If the prices are lower at the new outlets and this decrease in costs is not accurately captured in the CPI, the index will exhibit an upward bias.

This study looks at the education costs and financial support for 18 to 24 year old students (17 to 24 in Quebec) pursuing postsecondary studies in Canada during the 2001-2002 academic year. Taking into account the basic costs of postsecondary programs (tuition fees, books and supplies), this study also looks at how students pay for their studies.

Canada has reverted to its more traditional orientation over the last three years, as prophecies of a new, tech-driven economy have not been realized. Surging demand and prices for energy and mining products was the dominant theme of the year. All regions benefited from these changes.

This paper examines the role of human capital accumulation in explaining the relative levels of income per capita across Canadian provinces. We use principally two different types of human capital indicators based respectively on university attainment and literacy test scores. A synthetic time series of the average literacy level of labour market entrants for each period between 1951 and 2001 is constructed from the demographic profile of literacy test scores taken from the 2003 Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey. The percentage of the working-age population holding a university degree is available since 1951 from the census figures. Our main results are the following. First, both human capital indicators are strong predictors of the relative levels of per capita income (minus government transfers) across provinces, along with the relative rates of urbanization and specific shocks in Alberta and Quebec. Second, the skills acquired by one extra year of schooling result in an increase in per capita income of around 7.3 percent. Third, we find that our literacy indicator does not outperform the university attainment indicator. This contrasts sharply with our recent result found at the cross-country level (Coulombe, Tremblay, and Marchand [2004]) and suggests substantial measurement error in cross-country schooling data. Fourth, by focusing on regional economies that have similar levels of social infrastructure and social development, our analysis provides potentially more reliable estimates of the contribution of human capital accumulation to relative living standards.

This paper provides a concise overview in plain language of the concept of productivity by explaining its relevance and usefulness. This paper is intended for users of the Canadian Productivity Accounts who wish to learn more about productivity concepts, in simple terms.