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  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000123
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Recent studies have demonstrated the quantitative importance of entry, exit, growth and decline in the industrial population. It is this turnover that rewards innovative activity and contributes to productivity growth.

    While the size of the entry population is impressive - especially when cumulated over time - the importance of entry is ultimately due to its impact on innovation in the economy. Experimentation is important in a dynamic, market-based economy. A key part of the experimentation comes from entrants. New entrepreneurs constantly offer consumers new products both in terms of the basic good and the level of service that accompanies it.

    This experimentation is associated with significant costs since many entrants fail. Young firms are most at risk of failure; data drawn from a longitudinal file of Canadian entrants in both the goods and service sectors show that over half the new firms that fail do so in the first two years of life. Life is short for the majority of entrants. Only 1 in 5 new firms survive to their tenth birthday.

    Since so many entrants fall by the wayside, it is of inherent interest to understand the conditions that are associated with success, the conditions that allow the potential in new entrepreneurs to come to fruition. The success of an entrant is due to its choosing the correct combination of strategies and activities. To understand how these capabilities contribute to growth, it is necessary to study how the performance of entrants relates to differences in strategies and pursued activities.

    This paper describes the environment and the characteristics of entrants that manage to survive and grow. In doing so, it focuses on two issues. The first is the innovativeness of entrants and the extent to which their growth depends on their innovativeness. The second is to outline how the stress on worker skills, which is partially related to training, complements innovation and contributes to growth.

    Release date: 2000-12-08

  • Journals and periodicals: 41-251-X
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Fabricated metal products industries remain in the middle of an expansion period. The construction sector's vitality, as well as the high North-American demand for industrial products, allow metal products manufacturers to live glorious days. However, where competitiveness is concerned, there could be trouble in paradise. In the last few years, the cost of labour has been on the rise, while the value added for each paid hour has been weakening. Moreover, imports have been increasing at a higher pace than exports in the last two years.

    Release date: 2000-09-01

  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000151
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines whether new views of the multinational that see these firms as decentralizing research and development (R&D) activities abroad to exploit local competencies accord with the activities of multinationals in Canada. The paper describes the innovation regime of multinational firms in Canada by examining the differences between foreign- and domestically owned firms. It focuses on the extent to which R&D is used; the type of R&D activity; the importance of R&D relative to other sources of innovative ideas; whether the use of these other ideas indicates that multinationals are closely tied into local innovation networks; the intensity of innovation; and the use that is made of intellectual property rights to protect innovations from being copied by others.

    We find that, far from being passively dependent on R&D from their parents, foreign-owned firms in Canada are more active in R&D than the population of Canadian-owned firms. They are also more often involved in R&D collaboration projects both abroad and in Canada. As expected, foreign subsidiaries enjoy the advantage of accessing technology from their parent and sister companies. While multinationals are more closely tied into a network of related firms for innovative ideas than are domestically owned firms, their local R&D unit is a more important source of information for innovation than are these inter-firm links. Surprisingly, foreign subsidiaries also more frequently report that they are using technology from unrelated firms. Moreover, the multinational is just as likely to develop links into a local university and other local innovation consortia as are domestically owned firms. This evidence indicates that multinationals in Canada are not, on the whole, operating subsidiaries whose scientific development capabilities are truncated - at least not in comparison to domestically owned firms.

    A comparison of the extent and impact of innovation activity of domestically and foreign-owned firms shows that foreign-owned firms innovate in all sectors more frequently than Canadian-owned companies in almost all size categories. They are also more likely to introduce world-first rather than more imitative innovations. Their superiority is most pronounced in the consumer goods sector. Finally, foreign-owned firms are more likely to protect their innovations with patent protection.

    The paper also compares foreign subsidiaries to Canadian corporations that have an international orientation. These additional comparisons show that the two groups of multinationals are quite similar, both with regards to the likelihood that they conduct some form of R&D and that they introduce innovations. These results indicate that it is as much the degree of globalization that the nationality of ownership that affects the degree of innovativeness.

    Overall, the survey results suggest that foreign-owned firms make a significant contribution to technological progress and innovation in Canadian industry.

    Release date: 2000-06-27

  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000139
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper estimates price-marginal cost mark-ups for Canadian manufacturing industries in order to assess the impact of import competition on domestic market power. The results are mixed. Although the overall relationship between mark-ups and imports is positive across industries for the early 1970s and insignificant for the late 1970s, there is some weak cross-sectional evidence to suggest that imports reduce market power in domestically concentrated industries. Changes in imports between the two periods, however, have a positive impact on mark-ups in concentrated industries. Thus, there is no consistent evidence for Canada that imports have had the beneficial impact on competition that has been emphasized in much of the literature. In contrast, an interesting result of the paper is that increases in exports are associated with reductions in mark-ups, suggesting that exports may have a stronger pro-competitive impact on domestic firms than imports.

    Release date: 2000-05-04

  • Articles and reports: 31F0027M2000001
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines current expenditures on packaging products by manufacturing industries and outlines various trends observed since the start of the decade.

    Release date: 2000-03-29

  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000122
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines how several factors contribute to innovative activity in the Canadian manufacturing sector. First, it investigates the extent to which intellectual property right protection stimulates innovation. Second, it examines the contribution that R&D makes to innovation. Third, it considers the importance of various competencies in the area of marketing, human resource, technology and production to the innovation process. Fourth, it examines the extent to which a larger firm size and less competition serve to stimulate competition-the so-called Schumpeterian hypothesis. Fifth, the effect of the nationality of a firm on innovation is also investigated. Finally, the paper examines the effect of an industry's environment on a firm's ability to innovate.

    Several findings are of note. First, the relationship between innovation and patent use is found to be much stronger going from innovation to patent use than from patent use to innovation. Firms that innovate take out patents; but firms and industries that make more intensive use of patents do not tend to produce more innovations. Second, while R&D is important, developing capabilities in other areas, such as technological competency and marketing, is also important. Third, size effects are significant. The largest firms tend to be more innovative. As for competition, intermediate levels of competition are the most conducive to innovation. Fourth, foreign-controlled firms are not significantly more likely to innovate than domestic-controlled firms once differences in competencies have been taken into account. Fifth, the scientific infrastructure provided by university research is a significant determinant of innovation.

    Release date: 2000-03-07

  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000118
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This study uses data to study differences in labour productivity gains across domestic and foreign-controlled establishments in the manufacturing sector for the period 1973 to 1993. In doing so, it also examines the extent to which labour productivity differences exist between small and large establishments and across industry sectors and how they have been changing over time.

    The analysis consists of three parts. In the first section, the connection between labour usage and output is examined. This analysis investigates differences in marginal labour propensities for the different subgroups in the short and long-run. Here volatility is seen to be lower for foreign-controlled establishments. The second section examines the difference between the growth in average labour productivity for the same groups. Here foreign-controlled establishments are seen to have the highest growth rates. The third section investigates whether any trend can be found in the rates of growth for large and small, domestic and foreign establishments and finds that these differences have been increasing over time.

    Release date: 2000-03-01

  • Journals and periodicals: 34-250-X
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    In recent years, several economic forces have caused a change in the structure of the economy. Factors such as globalization and trade liberalization, among others, have intensified competition resulting in reallocation of resources among sectors in Canada. As business services, communications and wholesale trade emerged as engines of growth, it is generally perceived that the manufacturing industry has lost its significance. In contrast, a review of historical data on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) show that the share of manufacturing output was slightly up, from 17.2% in 1961 to 17.8% in 1998.

    This paper reflects upon the importance of manufacturing in the economy and focuses on one industry - Primary Textiles. It concentrates on the evolution and significance of this industry within an overall changing economic structure using Statistics Canada's data base, CANSIM, results of the Annual Survey of Manufactures (1988 to 1997) along with current findings of the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing (1998 and 1999).

    Release date: 2000-02-18

  • Journals and periodicals: 43-250-X
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    The latest issue consists of the article "Strong growth propels the electrical and electronic products industry into the 21st century" by Russell Kowaluk. Despite the recent turmoil in global stock markets, manufacturing in Canada is finally reaping the benefits of prosperity on many accounts, and such positive indicators are prevalent in one of Canada's more innovative, and dynamic industries, the electrical and electronic products industry (Major Group 33). Following a brief pause in 1996, the value of shipments surpassed the $30 billion mark in 1997. Employment levels recorded their strongest growth in ten years, while international trade estimates again achieved record highs.

    This review paper highlights the results of the 1997 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM), and details various prevailing economic indicators, illustrating the growth in the electrical and electronic products industry. These factors will be highlighted and analyzed, and the electrical and electronic products sector will be compared to other industries and measured relative to the manufacturing sector as a whole. Key current indicators to be investigated include the value of shipments and costs of production, international trade and labor statistics.

    Release date: 2000-02-18

  • Articles and reports: 31F0027M1998001
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper addresses the issue of specialization in the Canadian manufacturing sector after 1989.

    Release date: 2000-01-26
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Analysis (11) (0 to 10 of 11 results)

  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000123
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Recent studies have demonstrated the quantitative importance of entry, exit, growth and decline in the industrial population. It is this turnover that rewards innovative activity and contributes to productivity growth.

    While the size of the entry population is impressive - especially when cumulated over time - the importance of entry is ultimately due to its impact on innovation in the economy. Experimentation is important in a dynamic, market-based economy. A key part of the experimentation comes from entrants. New entrepreneurs constantly offer consumers new products both in terms of the basic good and the level of service that accompanies it.

    This experimentation is associated with significant costs since many entrants fail. Young firms are most at risk of failure; data drawn from a longitudinal file of Canadian entrants in both the goods and service sectors show that over half the new firms that fail do so in the first two years of life. Life is short for the majority of entrants. Only 1 in 5 new firms survive to their tenth birthday.

    Since so many entrants fall by the wayside, it is of inherent interest to understand the conditions that are associated with success, the conditions that allow the potential in new entrepreneurs to come to fruition. The success of an entrant is due to its choosing the correct combination of strategies and activities. To understand how these capabilities contribute to growth, it is necessary to study how the performance of entrants relates to differences in strategies and pursued activities.

    This paper describes the environment and the characteristics of entrants that manage to survive and grow. In doing so, it focuses on two issues. The first is the innovativeness of entrants and the extent to which their growth depends on their innovativeness. The second is to outline how the stress on worker skills, which is partially related to training, complements innovation and contributes to growth.

    Release date: 2000-12-08

  • Journals and periodicals: 41-251-X
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    Fabricated metal products industries remain in the middle of an expansion period. The construction sector's vitality, as well as the high North-American demand for industrial products, allow metal products manufacturers to live glorious days. However, where competitiveness is concerned, there could be trouble in paradise. In the last few years, the cost of labour has been on the rise, while the value added for each paid hour has been weakening. Moreover, imports have been increasing at a higher pace than exports in the last two years.

    Release date: 2000-09-01

  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000151
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines whether new views of the multinational that see these firms as decentralizing research and development (R&D) activities abroad to exploit local competencies accord with the activities of multinationals in Canada. The paper describes the innovation regime of multinational firms in Canada by examining the differences between foreign- and domestically owned firms. It focuses on the extent to which R&D is used; the type of R&D activity; the importance of R&D relative to other sources of innovative ideas; whether the use of these other ideas indicates that multinationals are closely tied into local innovation networks; the intensity of innovation; and the use that is made of intellectual property rights to protect innovations from being copied by others.

    We find that, far from being passively dependent on R&D from their parents, foreign-owned firms in Canada are more active in R&D than the population of Canadian-owned firms. They are also more often involved in R&D collaboration projects both abroad and in Canada. As expected, foreign subsidiaries enjoy the advantage of accessing technology from their parent and sister companies. While multinationals are more closely tied into a network of related firms for innovative ideas than are domestically owned firms, their local R&D unit is a more important source of information for innovation than are these inter-firm links. Surprisingly, foreign subsidiaries also more frequently report that they are using technology from unrelated firms. Moreover, the multinational is just as likely to develop links into a local university and other local innovation consortia as are domestically owned firms. This evidence indicates that multinationals in Canada are not, on the whole, operating subsidiaries whose scientific development capabilities are truncated - at least not in comparison to domestically owned firms.

    A comparison of the extent and impact of innovation activity of domestically and foreign-owned firms shows that foreign-owned firms innovate in all sectors more frequently than Canadian-owned companies in almost all size categories. They are also more likely to introduce world-first rather than more imitative innovations. Their superiority is most pronounced in the consumer goods sector. Finally, foreign-owned firms are more likely to protect their innovations with patent protection.

    The paper also compares foreign subsidiaries to Canadian corporations that have an international orientation. These additional comparisons show that the two groups of multinationals are quite similar, both with regards to the likelihood that they conduct some form of R&D and that they introduce innovations. These results indicate that it is as much the degree of globalization that the nationality of ownership that affects the degree of innovativeness.

    Overall, the survey results suggest that foreign-owned firms make a significant contribution to technological progress and innovation in Canadian industry.

    Release date: 2000-06-27

  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000139
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper estimates price-marginal cost mark-ups for Canadian manufacturing industries in order to assess the impact of import competition on domestic market power. The results are mixed. Although the overall relationship between mark-ups and imports is positive across industries for the early 1970s and insignificant for the late 1970s, there is some weak cross-sectional evidence to suggest that imports reduce market power in domestically concentrated industries. Changes in imports between the two periods, however, have a positive impact on mark-ups in concentrated industries. Thus, there is no consistent evidence for Canada that imports have had the beneficial impact on competition that has been emphasized in much of the literature. In contrast, an interesting result of the paper is that increases in exports are associated with reductions in mark-ups, suggesting that exports may have a stronger pro-competitive impact on domestic firms than imports.

    Release date: 2000-05-04

  • Articles and reports: 31F0027M2000001
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines current expenditures on packaging products by manufacturing industries and outlines various trends observed since the start of the decade.

    Release date: 2000-03-29

  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000122
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper examines how several factors contribute to innovative activity in the Canadian manufacturing sector. First, it investigates the extent to which intellectual property right protection stimulates innovation. Second, it examines the contribution that R&D makes to innovation. Third, it considers the importance of various competencies in the area of marketing, human resource, technology and production to the innovation process. Fourth, it examines the extent to which a larger firm size and less competition serve to stimulate competition-the so-called Schumpeterian hypothesis. Fifth, the effect of the nationality of a firm on innovation is also investigated. Finally, the paper examines the effect of an industry's environment on a firm's ability to innovate.

    Several findings are of note. First, the relationship between innovation and patent use is found to be much stronger going from innovation to patent use than from patent use to innovation. Firms that innovate take out patents; but firms and industries that make more intensive use of patents do not tend to produce more innovations. Second, while R&D is important, developing capabilities in other areas, such as technological competency and marketing, is also important. Third, size effects are significant. The largest firms tend to be more innovative. As for competition, intermediate levels of competition are the most conducive to innovation. Fourth, foreign-controlled firms are not significantly more likely to innovate than domestic-controlled firms once differences in competencies have been taken into account. Fifth, the scientific infrastructure provided by university research is a significant determinant of innovation.

    Release date: 2000-03-07

  • Articles and reports: 11F0019M2000118
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This study uses data to study differences in labour productivity gains across domestic and foreign-controlled establishments in the manufacturing sector for the period 1973 to 1993. In doing so, it also examines the extent to which labour productivity differences exist between small and large establishments and across industry sectors and how they have been changing over time.

    The analysis consists of three parts. In the first section, the connection between labour usage and output is examined. This analysis investigates differences in marginal labour propensities for the different subgroups in the short and long-run. Here volatility is seen to be lower for foreign-controlled establishments. The second section examines the difference between the growth in average labour productivity for the same groups. Here foreign-controlled establishments are seen to have the highest growth rates. The third section investigates whether any trend can be found in the rates of growth for large and small, domestic and foreign establishments and finds that these differences have been increasing over time.

    Release date: 2000-03-01

  • Journals and periodicals: 34-250-X
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    In recent years, several economic forces have caused a change in the structure of the economy. Factors such as globalization and trade liberalization, among others, have intensified competition resulting in reallocation of resources among sectors in Canada. As business services, communications and wholesale trade emerged as engines of growth, it is generally perceived that the manufacturing industry has lost its significance. In contrast, a review of historical data on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) show that the share of manufacturing output was slightly up, from 17.2% in 1961 to 17.8% in 1998.

    This paper reflects upon the importance of manufacturing in the economy and focuses on one industry - Primary Textiles. It concentrates on the evolution and significance of this industry within an overall changing economic structure using Statistics Canada's data base, CANSIM, results of the Annual Survey of Manufactures (1988 to 1997) along with current findings of the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing (1998 and 1999).

    Release date: 2000-02-18

  • Journals and periodicals: 43-250-X
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    The latest issue consists of the article "Strong growth propels the electrical and electronic products industry into the 21st century" by Russell Kowaluk. Despite the recent turmoil in global stock markets, manufacturing in Canada is finally reaping the benefits of prosperity on many accounts, and such positive indicators are prevalent in one of Canada's more innovative, and dynamic industries, the electrical and electronic products industry (Major Group 33). Following a brief pause in 1996, the value of shipments surpassed the $30 billion mark in 1997. Employment levels recorded their strongest growth in ten years, while international trade estimates again achieved record highs.

    This review paper highlights the results of the 1997 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM), and details various prevailing economic indicators, illustrating the growth in the electrical and electronic products industry. These factors will be highlighted and analyzed, and the electrical and electronic products sector will be compared to other industries and measured relative to the manufacturing sector as a whole. Key current indicators to be investigated include the value of shipments and costs of production, international trade and labor statistics.

    Release date: 2000-02-18

  • Articles and reports: 31F0027M1998001
    Geography: Canada
    Description:

    This paper addresses the issue of specialization in the Canadian manufacturing sector after 1989.

    Release date: 2000-01-26
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