Business performance and ownership

Description:

This paper examines the maturation process of firms that enter an industry by constructing new plant and investigates the extent to which improvements in the performance of an entry cohort are the result of a selection process that culls out the most inefficient entrants or of a learning process that allows survivors to improve their performance relative to incumbent firms. Both selection and evolutionary learning are related to post-entry performance. Despite the difference in the effect of selection and learning on the amount of post-entry growth, selection per se is a more important contributor to overall growth of a cohort.

Description:

This study examines the characteristics of small and medium-sized firms that perform training. It uses data taken from a recent Statistics Canada survey that permit firms' training decisions to be analyzed within the broader context of their many activities and strategies.

The study finds strong evidence for the hypothesis that human capital development facilitated by training is complementary to innovation and technological change. Training incidence is found to be closely related to the importance that a firm gives to research and development, the use of new technologies, and numerous other strategies that are related to innovation. Training is also greater where a firm emphasizes quality and a comprehensive human-resource strategy. The results point to the inherent complementarity of technology and human resources policy.

Description:

This study investigates differences in the policies being pursued by innovative and non-innovative firms. It focuses on a broad group of strategies -- in marketing, finance, production, management and human resources and asks whether there are key areas in which the strategies being followed by innovative and non-innovative firms differ. It also asks how the activities of firms in each of these areas differs. Finally, it compares the performance of innovative and non-innovative firms. The study finds that innovative firms place a greater emphasis on management, human resources, marketing, financing, government programs and services, and production efficiencies. In most of these areas, innovative firms pursue activities more intensively. Finally, innovative firms are more successful than non-innovative firms.

Description:

This study examines the differences in strategies and activities pursued by a sample of more-successful and less-successful group of growing small- and medium-sized enterprises. Amongst other matters, it examines different functional strategies -- the importance of management, human resource practices, marketing, financing, and the innovativeness of the firm. Innovative activities are the most important determinants of success; that is, for a wide range of industries, they serve to discriminate between the more- and the less-successful firms better than any other variable. Almost all of the strategy questions that relate to innovative activity receive higher scores from the more-successful group of firms than from the less-successful group of firms. This is also the case for innovative activities -- whether a firm possesses an R&D unit, its expenditure on R&D relative to total investment, and its R&D-to-sales ratio.

Description:

This paper uses job turnover data to compare how job creation, job destruction and net job change differ for small and large establishments in the Canadian manufacturing sector. It uses several different techniques to correct for the regression-to-the-mean problem that, it has been suggested, might incorrectly lead to the conclusion that small establishments create a disproportionate number of new jobs. It finds that net job creation for smaller establishments is greater than that of large establishments after such changes are made. The paper also compares the importance of small and large establishments in the manufacturing sectors of Canada and the United States. The Canadian manufacturing sector is shown to have both a larger proportion of employment in smaller establishments but also to have a small establishment sector that is growing in importance relative to that of the United States.

Description:

The statistical observation that small firms have created the majority of new jobs during the 1980s has had a tremendous influence on public policy. Governmentshave looked to the small firm sector for employment growth, and have promoted policies to augment this expansion. However, recent research in the US suggeststhat net job creation in the small firm sector may have been overestimated, relative to that in large firms. This paper addresses various measurement issues raised inthe recent research, and uses a very unique Canadian longitudinal data set that encompasses all companies in the Canadian economy to reassess the issue of jobcreation by firm size. We conclude that over the 1978-92 period, for both the entire Canadian economy and the manufacturing sector, the growth rate of (net)employment decreases monotonically as the size of firm increases, no matter which method of sizing firms is used. The small firm sector has accounted for adisproportionate share of both gross job gains and job losses, and in that aggregate, accounted for a disproportionate share of the employment increase over theperiod. Measurement does matter, however, as the magnitude of the difference in the growth rates of small and large firms is very sensitive to the measurementapproaches used. The paper also produces results for various industrial sectors, asks whether the more rapid growth in industries with a high proportion of smallfirms is responsible for the findings at the all-economy level, and examines employment growth in existing small and large firms (ie excluding births). It is found thatemployment growth in the population of existing small and large firms is very similar.

Description:

Changing economic conditions affect some industries more than others.

Description:

Government transfer payments can add another dimension to judging regional economic performance. This article looks at sub-provincial areas and the effect of transfer payments to lessen economic inequality in these areas.

Description: The Business Register (BR) is Statistics Canada's continuously-maintained central repository of baseline information on businesses and institutions operating in Canada. As a statistical register, it provides listings of units and related attributes required for survey sampling frames, data integration, stratification and business demographic statistics. The BR is a major pillar of the agency's business statistics programs, including the Census of Agriculture.

Description: The survey collects financial data from electric utilities in Canada. The information is used as input to the Canadian System of National Accounts. Federal (National Energy Board) and provincial agencies are also provided with data on a regular basis.

Description: The Inter-corporate ownership product is the most authoritative and comprehensive source of information available on corporate ownership; a unique directory of "who owns what" in Canada. It provides up-to-date information reflecting recent corporate takeovers and other substantial changes. Ultimate corporate control is determined through a careful study of holdings by corporations, the effects of options, insider holdings, convertible shares and interlocking directorships. The number of corporations that make up the hierarchy of structures totals approximately 50,000.

The information that is presented is based on non-confidential returns filed by Canadian corporations under the Corporations Returns Act and on research using public sources such as internet sites. The data are presented in an easy-to-read tiered format, illustrating at a glance the hierarchy of subsidiaries within each corporate structure. The entries for each corporation provide both the country of control and the country of residence.

The product covers every individual corporation that is part of a group of commonly controlled corporations with combined assets exceeding 600 million dollars or combined revenue exceeding 200 million dollars. Individual corporations with debt obligations or equity owing to non-residents exceeding a net book value of 1 million dollars are covered as well.

Description: This table contains 16 series, with data starting from 1946 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 items: Canada ...), Foreign currency assets and liabilities (16 items: Foreign currency assets; securities; Foreign currency assets; call loans; Total; foreign currency assets; Foreign currency assets; other loans ...).

Description:

This table contains 27 series, with data starting from 1981 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 item: Canada); Type of currency (27 items: Australian dollar, daily average; Brazilian real, daily average; Chinese renminbi, daily average; European euro, daily average; ...).

Description: The need for alternative data sources is of growing importance for both supplementing Statistics Canada's data holdings and for nowcasting economic activity. In response to this need, Statistics Canada initiated the development of a Real-time Local Business Conditions Index (RT-LBCI). The index brings together data from a few different sources, including Google's Places API (containing data on temporary and permanent businesses closures), TomTom Real-time traffic API (road traffic data), as well as information from Statistics Canada data holdings (monthly retail and wholesale, Business Register, etc.). The project aims to compute a near real-time index of economic activity in Canadian major cities.

Description: This table contains 38 series, with data starting from 1957 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 item: Canada), Rates (38 items: Bank rate; Chartered bank administered interest rates - prime business; Chartered bank - consumer loan rate; Forward premium or discount (-), United States dollars in Canada: 1 month; ...).

Description:

Monthly Canadian manufacturers' sales, new orders, unfilled orders, raw materials, goods or work in process, finished goods, total inventories, inventory to sales ratios and finished goods to sales ratios for durable and non-durable goods by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), in dollars unless otherwise noted. Unadjusted and seasonally adjusted values available from January 1992 to the current reference month.

Description:

Monthly manufacturers' sales, inventories, orders and inventory-to-sales ratios, for motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts manufacturing industries, and motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing industries, in dollars unless otherwise noted.

Description:

The RT-LBCI is released as an experimental statistic. It is intended to provide a real-time signal on business activities following the disruptions brought about by the pandemic and through the recovery phase.

Description: The Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA) Data Portal is a collaboration between Statistics Canada and Natural Resources Canada, which administers the ESTMA. The ESTMA helps the Government of Canada deter corruption in the extractive sector by requiring extractive entities that are active in Canada to publicly disclose, on an annual basis, certain types of payments made to governments in Canada and abroad. The goal of the data portal is to increase the accessibility and utility of the payment information collected under the ESTMA by bringing together all available ESTMA data in one online location, and further enriching the payment data with analytical functions that help users to leverage the complete ESTMA dataset. The database has also been designed with mobility in mind to ensure that users and stakeholders have mobile access to ESTMA data.

Description: This table contains 8 series, with data starting from 1992 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 item: Canada), Rates (8 items: Bank rate; Treasury bill auction - average yields: 3 month; Treasury bill auction - average yields: 6 month; Treasury bill auction - average yields: 1 year; ...).

Description:

The statistics in this bulletin are derived from the 2000 survey of industrial research and development activities in Canada, which covers firms spending a million dollars or more on the performance or funding of research and development in Canada, and from the administrative data of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) for firms which spend less than a million dollars on the performance or funding of research and development in Canada. The use of CCRA data results in a small understatement in total figures for the most recent years reported.

Description:

This paper examines the relationship between e-business and firm size.

Description:

The paper examines the possible explanations for deviations from purchasing power parity (PPP) between Canada and the United States in the 1980s and 1990s and investigates both the productivity effect and the underlying PPP assumption for tradable goods.

Description:

Understanding the importance of the dynamic entry process in the Canadian economy involves measuring size of entry. The main purpose of this paper is to summarize the information we have on the amount of entry in Canada.

The paper also fulfils another purpose. Some studies have focused on cross-country comparisons (Geroski and Schwalbach 1991; OECD 2001). Interpretation of the results of these studies is difficult unless methodological issues regarding how entry is measured are addressed. Without an understanding of the extent to which different databases produce different results, international comparisons are difficult to evaluate. Cross-country comparisons that are derived from extremely different data sources may be misleading because of the lack of comparability.

Since there is more than one reliable database that can be used to estimate entry in Canada, this paper asks how measured entry rates vary across different Canadian databases. By examining the difference in entry rates produced by these databases, we provide an estimate of the range or confidence interval that should be used in evaluating whether there are real differences in measured entry rates across countries. We also offer guidance as to the questions that should be asked about the databases used by researchers who conduct international studies. Finally, we make suggestions as to areas of comparison on which international studies should focus.

Description:

This paper investigates the financial characteristics of new small firms. The analysis develops a representative, small-firm financial profile and evaluates the extent to which the proportionate use of different instruments and sources is correlated with industry-level and firm-specific characteristics. Multivariate methods are then used to examine relationships among financial structure, R&D intensity, and innovation.

Our results suggest that relationships between knowledge intensity and capital structure are bidirectional. After a range of industry- and firm-level covariates are controlled for, firms that devote a higher percentage of their investment expenditure to R&D also exhibit fewer debt-intensive structures. Conversely, debt-intensive structures also act to constrain investments in R&D. These relationships, however, depend upon the type of debt in the asset mix. It is the share of long-term debt to total assets that is negatively related to investments in knowledge.

Description:

This paper examines small producers in the Canadian and U.S. manufacturing sectors in terms of output and employment from the early 1970s to the late 1990s.

Description:

This report covers the activities of Canadian multinationals companies abroad. It analyses which industries predominate and where foreign affiliate sales originate.

Description:

According to the report Profile of Spin-off Firms in the Biotechnology Sector, three out of every 10 companies in Canada's rapidly expanding biotechnology sector in 1999 were spin-offs. These firms, which range from corporate spin-offs to biotechnology companies created by universities and research hospitals, accounted for more than one-quarter of total revenues in 1999.

Description:

This paper studies changes in diversification of firms and plants since the early 1970s in the Canadian manufacturing sector. It finds that there has been a general increase in specialization of both firms and plants. Firms have been continuously reducing the span of industries in which they operate, particularly when the industries are unrelated. Commodity specialization has also occurred at the plant level; however, in contrast to industry specialization, the pace of commodity specialization increased emerged late in the period, around the time of implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the United States. Plant specialization increased most in those plants that moved most strongly into export markets.

Description:

This article presents a general statistical profile of the life and health insurance industry amidst a rapidly changing financial services landscape in Canada. The economic performance of the industry is analyzed in terms of economic output, employment and industrial structure over a ten-year period from 1988 to 1998.

Description: Rural Canada Non-Profits (RCNP) is a database that provides estimates of Non-Profit Organization (NPO) counts, total revenue and total employment in Canada. This document presents the data sources, methods and classification concepts used in the production of the RCNP.

Description:

The North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) is the departmental standard for the classification of products (goods and services). The classification is a joint project of the national statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. NAPCS is used to produce product statistics on a variety of topics, including the value of outputs of industries, the consumption by businesses and households, the value of imports and exports, and the movement of industrial and raw material prices. NAPCS Canada comprises definitions for all categories that include a descriptive text, as well as illustrative examples, inclusions and exclusions where appropriate.

Email: statcan.csds-standardsproducts-cnsd-normesproduits.statcan@statcan.gc.ca

Description:

The mandate of the Analytical Studies Branch (ASB) is to provide high-quality, relevant and timely information on economic, health and social issues that are important to Canadians. The branch strategically makes use of expert knowledge and a large range of statistical sources to describe, draw inferences from, and make objective and scientifically supported deductions about the evolving nature of the Canadian economy and society. Research questions are addressed by applying leading-edge methods, including microsimulation and predictive analytics using a range of linked and integrated administrative and survey data. In supporting greater access to data, ASB linked data are made available to external researchers and policy makers to support evidence-based decision making. Research results are disseminated by the branch using a range of mediums (i.e., research papers, studies, infographics, videos, and blogs) to meet user needs. The branch also provides analytical support and training, feedback, and quality assurance to the wide range of programs within and outside Statistics Canada.

Description:

The Chart of Accounts comprises a balance sheet, an income statement and selected other accounts. The balance sheet provides information on the financial position of a business. The income statement provides information on the performance of a business. The elements of the balance sheet are assets, liabilities and equity. The elements of the income statement are revenues; expenses; gains/losses, corporate taxes and other items; and extraordinary gains/losses, non-recurring items and adjustments.

Description:

This paper provides an overview of the productivity program at Statistics Canada and a brief description of Canada's productivity performance. The paper defines productivity and the various measures that are used to investigate different aspects of productivity growth. It describes the difference between partial productivity measures (such as labour productivity) and a more complete measure (multifactor productivity) and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The paper explains why productivity is important. It outlines how productivity growth fits into the growth accounting framework and how this framework is used to examine the various sources of economic growth. The paper briefly discusses the challenges that face statisticians in measuring productivity growth. It also provides an overview of Canada's long-term productivity performance and compares Canada to the United States - both in terms of productivity levels and productivity growth rates.

Description:

This newsletter is a brief description of projects within the Business and Labour Market Analysis Division of Statistics Canada. The research covers a wide range of topics including labour market issues, low income, immigration, business firm dynamics, pensions, productivity, technology and innovation, as well as economic geography.

Description:

This product contains presentations done at Statistics Canada's annual Economic Conference which provides a forum for the exchange of empirical research among the business, government, research and labour communities. The conference is also a means to promote economic and socio-economic analysis while subjecting existing data to critical assessment as part of an ongoing process of statistical development and review.

Description:

This activity is designed to show students some of the changes affecting Prairie agriculture over the past 100 years, and how Prairie farmers have adapted to them.

Description:

This paper discusses the approach that Statistics Canada has taken to improve the quality of annual business surveys through their integration in the Unified Enterprise Survey (UES). The primary objective of the UES is to measure the final annual sales of goods and services accurately by province, in sufficient detail and in a timely manner.

This paper describes the methodological approaches that the UES has used to improve financial and commodity data quality in four broad areas. These include improved coherence of the data collected from different levels of the enterprise, better coverage of industries, better depth of information (in the sense of more content detail and estimates for more detailed domains) and better consistency of the concepts and methods across industries.

The approach, in achieving quality, has been to (a) establish a base measure of the quality of the business survey program prior to the UES, (b) measure the annual data quality of the UES, and (c) carry out specific studies to better understand the quality of UES data and methods.

Description:

The purpose of this paper is to provide some general background and describe the methodology of the pilot year Unified Enterprise Survey (UES). It also illustrates the role of the Unified Enterprise Survey Program (UESP) within The Project to Improve Provincial Economic Statistics (PIPES) program. This information package is targeted toward external clients, for example the Provincial Focal Points, enabling them to assess future data releases planned by industry sector. The scope of this information package will be expanded as subsequent data releases over the next six months or so provide more industry specific details for the seven new pilot industries included in the 1997 UES. This document is approximately twenty-two pages in length and is to be offered at no charge to callers requesting information on the UES.