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  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2014033
    Description:

    This paper examines and compares labour productivity in Canada and the United States for small and large firms over the period from 2002 to 2008. It quantifies the relative importance of small and large firms in Canada and the United States and measures the relative productivity levels of small versus large firms.

    Small firms are relatively more important in the Canadian economy. Small firms are less productive than large firms in both countries. But the productivity disadvantage of small relative to large firms was higher in Canada.

    The paper provides an estimate of the impact that these differences have on the gap in productivity levels between Canada and the United States. It first estimates the changes that would occur in Canadian aggregate labour productivity if the share of hours worked of large firms in Canada was increased to the U.S. level. It then quantifies the impact of increasing the relative productivity of small to large firms in Canada up to the relative productivity ratio of small firms to large firms that existed in the United States.

    Together, decreasing the relative importance of small firms in the economy and increasing their relative productivity compared to large firms accounts for most of the gap in productivity levels between Canada and the United States in 2002. However, changes in the economy that occurred between 2002 and 2008 reduced the contribution of the small-firm sector to the gap in productivity levels.

    Release date: 2014-01-08

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2013087
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    The topic of firm size and performance continues to spark the interest of researchers and policy-makers. Small and medium-sized enterprises receive much of the attention, as they have the potential to grow significantly. However, compared with their larger counterparts, these firms are more likely to fail and are therefore riskier.

    Is risk important in explaining differences in profitability across firm size classes? This study uses a longitudinal firm-level dataset to examine determinants of profitability by firm size, with an emphasis on risk, or the volatility in rates of return. It builds on previous research that found firms with 10 to 20 employees tend to be the most profitable.

    Release date: 2013-12-19

  • Articles and reports: 88-003-X200800110584
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Using data from the Survey of Innovation 2005, this article will examine the use of patents by Canadian manufacturing plants. Survey findings establish that plants use strategic methods more than patents for intellectual property protection. Patent use varies both by how big the plant is and whether it is innovative or non-innovative. In addition, the use of patents by Canadian manufacturing plants varies by the subsector in which they are classified.

    Release date: 2008-05-22

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2008052
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Over the past three decades, tariff barriers have fallen significantly, leading to an increasing integration of Canadian manufactures into world markets and especially the U.S. market. Much attention has been paid to the effects of this shift at the national scale, while little attention has been given to whether these effects vary across regions. In a country that spans a continent, there is ample reason to believe that the effects of trade will vary across regions. In particular, location has a significant effect on the size of markets available to firms, and this may impact the extent to which firms reorganize their production in response to falling trade barriers. Utilizing a longitudinal microdata file of manufacturing plants (1974 to 1999), this study tests the effect of higher levels of trade across regions on the organization of production within plants. The study finds that higher levels of export intensity (exports as a share of output) across regions are positively associated with longer production runs, larger plants and product specialization within plants. These effects are strongest in Ontario and Quebec, provinces that are best situated with respect to the U.S. market.

    Release date: 2008-05-09

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2006038
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines the effect of trade liberalization on plant scale, production-run length and product diversification. We first develop a model of trade in differentiated products with multi-product plants. We then present empirical evidence using a large panel of Canadian manufacturing plants and their experience with the 1989 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The model predicts that the bilateral tariff reduction reduces the product diversification of exporting plants, increases the production-run length and has an ambiguous effect on the size of those plants. It also reduces the product diversification and size of non-exporting plants, and has no effect on the production-run length of those plants. The empirical evidence on non-exporting plants provides broad support for the model. The evidence on exporting plants shows that exporters reduce product diversification, and increase production-run length and plant size, but those changes do not appear to be related to tariff cuts. Once in the export markets, plants respond to forces other than tariff cuts. Further tariff cuts have less effect on those plants.

    Release date: 2006-05-19

  • Articles and reports: 11-010-X20060029094
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Most of the new trends that began in 2001 intensified last year, notably the growth in natural resources and construction and losses in factories and the ICT sector. This shift also equalized job growth in urban and rural areas. Almost all job growth was for older workers, reflecting both their increasing share of the population and growing attachment to the labour force.

    Release date: 2006-02-16

  • Articles and reports: 88F0006X2005017
    Description:

    This working paper provides regional research and development (R&D) data for the business enterprise sector. Data are presented on R&D expenditures and personnel, by country of control, data source, employment size and R&D size.

    Release date: 2005-11-22

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2005031
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper studies the impact that a small country joining a regional trade agreement, but particularly a small country, might be expected to gain from the exploitation of scale economies. It makes use of the experience of Canada when it entered into the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the early 1990s.

    It finds that there was a general increase in the pace of plant commodity specialization around the time of implementation of the Free Trade Agreement. At the time of the treaty, plant diversity was found to be higher in larger plants and in industries with assets that are associated with scope economies. Diversity was also higher in industries that had higher rates of tariff protection.

    Over the 1980s and 1990s, plant diversity decreased with reductions in both U.S. and Canadian tariffs. And the decline was greater during the post FTA era than before, thereby suggesting that this treaty had an impact above and beyond that just engendered by the tariff reductions that were associated with it. The study also found that foreign-controlled plants tended to adjust more over the entire period.

    Release date: 2005-03-24

  • Articles and reports: 11-622-M2005006
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    The growth in micro-technologies and their widespread diffusion across economic sectors have given rise to what is often described as a New Economy - an economy in which competitive prospects are closely aligned with the firm's innovation and technology practices, and its use of skilled workers. Training is one strategy that many firms undertake in order to improve the quality of their workforce.

    This study contributes to the expanding body of research in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT). Using data on business sector workplaces from the 1999 Workplace and Employee Survey (WES), we investigate factors related to the incidence and intensity of training. The study focuses on whether training incidence and training intensity are more closely associated with the technological competencies of specific workplaces than with membership in ICT and science-based industry environments. The study finds that training incidence depends more on the technological competencies exhibited by individual workplaces. Among workplaces that decide to train, these technological competencies are also important determinants of the intensity of training.

    Workplaces which score highly on our index of technological competency are over three times more likely to train than those that rank zero on the competency index. The size of the workplace is also a factor. Large and medium-sized workplaces are 3 and 2.3 times more likely to train than small workplaces, respectively. And workplaces with higher-skilled workforces are more likely to train than workplaces with lower-skilled workforces.

    For workplaces that choose to train, their technological competency is the main determinant of training intensity. The size of the workplace, the average cost of training, and the skill level of the workforce are also influential factors'but to a lesser extent. Other factors, such as sector, outside sources of funding, and unionization status, are not influential factors in determining the intensity of training. Workplaces that have a higher average cost of training train fewer employees as a proportion of their workforce. However, the skill level of their employees moderates this effect, because as payroll-per-employee increases (a proxy for worker skills), plants train more.

    Release date: 2005-01-25

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2004022
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines the determinants of innovation and the role of innovation in productivity growth, shifts in market share and survival in the Canadian manufacturing sector. It presents a model that examines the effect of innovation on plant performance and plant survival.

    Release date: 2004-09-21
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  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2014033
    Description:

    This paper examines and compares labour productivity in Canada and the United States for small and large firms over the period from 2002 to 2008. It quantifies the relative importance of small and large firms in Canada and the United States and measures the relative productivity levels of small versus large firms.

    Small firms are relatively more important in the Canadian economy. Small firms are less productive than large firms in both countries. But the productivity disadvantage of small relative to large firms was higher in Canada.

    The paper provides an estimate of the impact that these differences have on the gap in productivity levels between Canada and the United States. It first estimates the changes that would occur in Canadian aggregate labour productivity if the share of hours worked of large firms in Canada was increased to the U.S. level. It then quantifies the impact of increasing the relative productivity of small to large firms in Canada up to the relative productivity ratio of small firms to large firms that existed in the United States.

    Together, decreasing the relative importance of small firms in the economy and increasing their relative productivity compared to large firms accounts for most of the gap in productivity levels between Canada and the United States in 2002. However, changes in the economy that occurred between 2002 and 2008 reduced the contribution of the small-firm sector to the gap in productivity levels.

    Release date: 2014-01-08

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2013087
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    The topic of firm size and performance continues to spark the interest of researchers and policy-makers. Small and medium-sized enterprises receive much of the attention, as they have the potential to grow significantly. However, compared with their larger counterparts, these firms are more likely to fail and are therefore riskier.

    Is risk important in explaining differences in profitability across firm size classes? This study uses a longitudinal firm-level dataset to examine determinants of profitability by firm size, with an emphasis on risk, or the volatility in rates of return. It builds on previous research that found firms with 10 to 20 employees tend to be the most profitable.

    Release date: 2013-12-19

  • Articles and reports: 88-003-X200800110584
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Using data from the Survey of Innovation 2005, this article will examine the use of patents by Canadian manufacturing plants. Survey findings establish that plants use strategic methods more than patents for intellectual property protection. Patent use varies both by how big the plant is and whether it is innovative or non-innovative. In addition, the use of patents by Canadian manufacturing plants varies by the subsector in which they are classified.

    Release date: 2008-05-22

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2008052
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Over the past three decades, tariff barriers have fallen significantly, leading to an increasing integration of Canadian manufactures into world markets and especially the U.S. market. Much attention has been paid to the effects of this shift at the national scale, while little attention has been given to whether these effects vary across regions. In a country that spans a continent, there is ample reason to believe that the effects of trade will vary across regions. In particular, location has a significant effect on the size of markets available to firms, and this may impact the extent to which firms reorganize their production in response to falling trade barriers. Utilizing a longitudinal microdata file of manufacturing plants (1974 to 1999), this study tests the effect of higher levels of trade across regions on the organization of production within plants. The study finds that higher levels of export intensity (exports as a share of output) across regions are positively associated with longer production runs, larger plants and product specialization within plants. These effects are strongest in Ontario and Quebec, provinces that are best situated with respect to the U.S. market.

    Release date: 2008-05-09

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2006038
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines the effect of trade liberalization on plant scale, production-run length and product diversification. We first develop a model of trade in differentiated products with multi-product plants. We then present empirical evidence using a large panel of Canadian manufacturing plants and their experience with the 1989 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The model predicts that the bilateral tariff reduction reduces the product diversification of exporting plants, increases the production-run length and has an ambiguous effect on the size of those plants. It also reduces the product diversification and size of non-exporting plants, and has no effect on the production-run length of those plants. The empirical evidence on non-exporting plants provides broad support for the model. The evidence on exporting plants shows that exporters reduce product diversification, and increase production-run length and plant size, but those changes do not appear to be related to tariff cuts. Once in the export markets, plants respond to forces other than tariff cuts. Further tariff cuts have less effect on those plants.

    Release date: 2006-05-19

  • Articles and reports: 11-010-X20060029094
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Most of the new trends that began in 2001 intensified last year, notably the growth in natural resources and construction and losses in factories and the ICT sector. This shift also equalized job growth in urban and rural areas. Almost all job growth was for older workers, reflecting both their increasing share of the population and growing attachment to the labour force.

    Release date: 2006-02-16

  • Articles and reports: 88F0006X2005017
    Description:

    This working paper provides regional research and development (R&D) data for the business enterprise sector. Data are presented on R&D expenditures and personnel, by country of control, data source, employment size and R&D size.

    Release date: 2005-11-22

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2005031
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper studies the impact that a small country joining a regional trade agreement, but particularly a small country, might be expected to gain from the exploitation of scale economies. It makes use of the experience of Canada when it entered into the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the early 1990s.

    It finds that there was a general increase in the pace of plant commodity specialization around the time of implementation of the Free Trade Agreement. At the time of the treaty, plant diversity was found to be higher in larger plants and in industries with assets that are associated with scope economies. Diversity was also higher in industries that had higher rates of tariff protection.

    Over the 1980s and 1990s, plant diversity decreased with reductions in both U.S. and Canadian tariffs. And the decline was greater during the post FTA era than before, thereby suggesting that this treaty had an impact above and beyond that just engendered by the tariff reductions that were associated with it. The study also found that foreign-controlled plants tended to adjust more over the entire period.

    Release date: 2005-03-24

  • Articles and reports: 11-622-M2005006
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    The growth in micro-technologies and their widespread diffusion across economic sectors have given rise to what is often described as a New Economy - an economy in which competitive prospects are closely aligned with the firm's innovation and technology practices, and its use of skilled workers. Training is one strategy that many firms undertake in order to improve the quality of their workforce.

    This study contributes to the expanding body of research in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT). Using data on business sector workplaces from the 1999 Workplace and Employee Survey (WES), we investigate factors related to the incidence and intensity of training. The study focuses on whether training incidence and training intensity are more closely associated with the technological competencies of specific workplaces than with membership in ICT and science-based industry environments. The study finds that training incidence depends more on the technological competencies exhibited by individual workplaces. Among workplaces that decide to train, these technological competencies are also important determinants of the intensity of training.

    Workplaces which score highly on our index of technological competency are over three times more likely to train than those that rank zero on the competency index. The size of the workplace is also a factor. Large and medium-sized workplaces are 3 and 2.3 times more likely to train than small workplaces, respectively. And workplaces with higher-skilled workforces are more likely to train than workplaces with lower-skilled workforces.

    For workplaces that choose to train, their technological competency is the main determinant of training intensity. The size of the workplace, the average cost of training, and the skill level of the workforce are also influential factors'but to a lesser extent. Other factors, such as sector, outside sources of funding, and unionization status, are not influential factors in determining the intensity of training. Workplaces that have a higher average cost of training train fewer employees as a proportion of their workforce. However, the skill level of their employees moderates this effect, because as payroll-per-employee increases (a proxy for worker skills), plants train more.

    Release date: 2005-01-25

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2004022
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines the determinants of innovation and the role of innovation in productivity growth, shifts in market share and survival in the Canadian manufacturing sector. It presents a model that examines the effect of innovation on plant performance and plant survival.

    Release date: 2004-09-21
Reference (1)

Reference (1) ((1 result))

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 64F0004X
    Description:

    This practical and informative guide for the construction industry will assist in navigating through numerous Statistics Canada products and services.

    Release date: 2002-12-13
Date modified: