Analysis

Description: Statistics Canada is enhancing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by better leveraging existing data to update the methodology to estimate price indexes for passenger vehicle insurance and homeowners’ home insurance. This paper presents an updated estimation methodology that uses hedonic quality adjustment applied to brokerage quote data. This approach estimates the price change of insurance premiums while holding price-influencing characteristics constant.

Description: In collaboration with the Bank of Canada, this research paper focuses on constructing analytical price index series for Canada, using the main owned accommodation measurement concepts proposed by the International Consumer Price Index Manual and adopted by other countries. This analysis explores these alternative treatments of owned accommodation in the Canadian context, examining their impact on the all-items Consumer Price Index. Additionally, it provides an explanation for the gap between perceived inflation and estimated inflation.

Description: Decisions by economic agents, such as firms and consumers, depend on their views about inflation. Consumers’ views of inflation, are systematically higher than inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and more so for certain demographic groups. While measurement factors can explain part of this gap, behavioral factors appear to play a larger role. This article examines these factors to explain the gap between CPI’s inflation and inflation perceptions in Canada.

Description: This study examines Canadian productivity performance over the period 1961-2004. It investigates labour productivity growth and the sources of improvements therein-multifactor productivity growth, capital intensity, and skill upgrading. It also examines the contribution that productivity growth has made to economic growth, and to improvement on living standards. Finally, this study investigates the share of income going to labour, and the real hourly compensation of workers.

Description:

This paper quantifies the contribution of public capital to productivity growth in the Canadian business sector. The approach developed here incorporates demand and supply forces, including the contribution of public capital, which may affect productivity performance. We estimate the model using disaggregated data composed of 37-industries in the Canadian business sector from 1961 to 2000. The results indicate that the main contributors to productivity growth, both at the industry and aggregate levels, are technical change and exogenous demand (representing the effect of aggregate income and population growth). Public capital contributed for about 18% of the overall business sector multifactor productivity growth over the 1961 to 2000 period. This is somewhat lower than the figures reported in the literature. However, the magnitudes of the contribution of public capital to productivity growth vary significantly across industries, with the largest impact occurring in transportation, trade and utilities.

Description:

Productivity growth in the U.S. economy jumped during the second half of the 1990s, a resurgence that the literature linked to information technology use. This report contributes to this debate in two ways. First, using the most comparable Canadian and U.S. data available, the contributions of information technology to output, capital input, and productivity performance are quantified. Second, the report examines the extent to which information technology-producing and information technology-using industries have contributed to the aggregate multifactor productivity revival.

Description:

This paper examines the effects of changes in consumer spending and asset holdings over the last 20 years on the economic landscape.

Description:

This study compares Canada and Australia with respect to living standards; labour productivity and utilization; and underlying sources of labour productivity growth.

Description:

This paper looks at the size of public infrastructure in Canada, its main components, how it has evolved over the last 40 years, and the extent to which it has contributed to Canada's standard of living and the performance of Canadian businesses.

Description:

This article describes productivity trends since 1981, the role of different industries and information technology (IT) in the recent acceleration, and the implications for Canada's prosperity.

Description: Statistics Canada is enhancing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by better leveraging existing data to update the methodology to estimate price indexes for passenger vehicle insurance and homeowners’ home insurance. This paper presents an updated estimation methodology that uses hedonic quality adjustment applied to brokerage quote data. This approach estimates the price change of insurance premiums while holding price-influencing characteristics constant.

Description: In collaboration with the Bank of Canada, this research paper focuses on constructing analytical price index series for Canada, using the main owned accommodation measurement concepts proposed by the International Consumer Price Index Manual and adopted by other countries. This analysis explores these alternative treatments of owned accommodation in the Canadian context, examining their impact on the all-items Consumer Price Index. Additionally, it provides an explanation for the gap between perceived inflation and estimated inflation.

Description: Decisions by economic agents, such as firms and consumers, depend on their views about inflation. Consumers’ views of inflation, are systematically higher than inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and more so for certain demographic groups. While measurement factors can explain part of this gap, behavioral factors appear to play a larger role. This article examines these factors to explain the gap between CPI’s inflation and inflation perceptions in Canada.

Description: This study examines Canadian productivity performance over the period 1961-2004. It investigates labour productivity growth and the sources of improvements therein-multifactor productivity growth, capital intensity, and skill upgrading. It also examines the contribution that productivity growth has made to economic growth, and to improvement on living standards. Finally, this study investigates the share of income going to labour, and the real hourly compensation of workers.

Description:

This paper quantifies the contribution of public capital to productivity growth in the Canadian business sector. The approach developed here incorporates demand and supply forces, including the contribution of public capital, which may affect productivity performance. We estimate the model using disaggregated data composed of 37-industries in the Canadian business sector from 1961 to 2000. The results indicate that the main contributors to productivity growth, both at the industry and aggregate levels, are technical change and exogenous demand (representing the effect of aggregate income and population growth). Public capital contributed for about 18% of the overall business sector multifactor productivity growth over the 1961 to 2000 period. This is somewhat lower than the figures reported in the literature. However, the magnitudes of the contribution of public capital to productivity growth vary significantly across industries, with the largest impact occurring in transportation, trade and utilities.

Description:

Productivity growth in the U.S. economy jumped during the second half of the 1990s, a resurgence that the literature linked to information technology use. This report contributes to this debate in two ways. First, using the most comparable Canadian and U.S. data available, the contributions of information technology to output, capital input, and productivity performance are quantified. Second, the report examines the extent to which information technology-producing and information technology-using industries have contributed to the aggregate multifactor productivity revival.

Description:

This paper examines the effects of changes in consumer spending and asset holdings over the last 20 years on the economic landscape.

Description:

This study compares Canada and Australia with respect to living standards; labour productivity and utilization; and underlying sources of labour productivity growth.

Description:

This paper looks at the size of public infrastructure in Canada, its main components, how it has evolved over the last 40 years, and the extent to which it has contributed to Canada's standard of living and the performance of Canadian businesses.

Description:

This article describes productivity trends since 1981, the role of different industries and information technology (IT) in the recent acceleration, and the implications for Canada's prosperity.