Analysis

Description:

This working paper profiles Canadian firms involved in the development and production of Bioproducts. It provides data on the number and types of Bioproducts firms in 2009, covering bioproducts revenues, research and development, use of biomass, patents, products, business practices and the impact of government regulations on the sector.

Description:

This paper introduces a U.S. Census Bureau special compilation by presenting four other papers of the current issue: three papers from authors Tillé, Lohr and Thompson as well as a discussion paper from Opsomer.

Description:

This chapter on families, living arrangements and unpaid work examines the family context and living arrangements of women, including their conjugal lives, and for those in couples, whether they are legal marriages or common-law unions, opposite-sex or same-sex couples, and whether or not there are children present. In addition, female lone-parent families are also analysed, as well as women who live in other arrangements, such as alone or with non-relatives. Other patterns related to births, marriages and divorces are explored, as are family characteristics and living arrangements of immigrant women and visible minority women. Finally, the area of unpaid work is examined, specifically, care of household children, domestic work (including housework and household maintenance) and volunteering.

Description:

For a majority of farm families and operators in OECD countries, off-farm or non-farm occupations have become a significant source of income and a major determinant of their well-being. This study investigates the use of off-farm employment by the operator as a tool to reduce the variability of the total income of the farm operator. A two-part model is developed to estimate the impact of farm income risk on the decision to participate in the off-farm labour market and the level of off-farm employment income. Longitudinal farm operator level data for about 31,305 Canadian farm operators from 2001 to 2006 are used for this study. The variability of farm gross market revenue is found to positively affect the likelihood of off-farm work and the level of off-farm employment income, in particular for operators of large commercial farms. The ability of a significant number of operators of larger farms to increase their coping capacity through off-farm employment income suggests the presence of substantial interactions between off-farm income and farm income stabilization policies. Consequently, the focus of agricultural policies on risk management and income stabilization reinforces the linkages between rural and agricultural policies. In particular, it appears that policies designed to facilitate access to off-farm work or to enhance off-farm opportunities, such as rural development programs, could contribute to achieve some objectives underlying agricultural income stabilization programs. These results reinforce the need for coherent rural and agricultural policies, and reinforce the argument for place-based policy that augments the opportunities for all residents in a locality, not just those in a specific sector.

Description: Canada is endowed with substantial reserves of natural resources, from energy and minerals in the ground to accessible stands of timber in forests. This article provides a brief overview of recent trends in Canada's natural resource wealth, which reflects the current dollar value of selected natural resource reserves.

Description:

Hospitalizations related to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) represent an indirect measure of access to primary care and the capacity of the system to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. ACSC-related hospitalizations are commonly referred to as avoidable hospitalizations and thus a measure of the performance of the primary care system. There is limited evidence linking the availability of primary care and ACSC-related hospitalizations. There is, however, growing evidence regarding the role of patient characteristics, such as socioeconomic status, that may place individuals at higher risk for such a hospitalization.

This study represents the first national level assessment of a broad range of factors associated with ACSC-related hospitalizations. The unique feature of this study is the focus on those individuals most at risk - that is, those with at least one ACS condition. The study is based on the linked health survey and hospital data that provide comprehensive information regarding patient characteristics, their access to primary care and whether or not they experienced an ACSC related hospitalization. Understanding the role of these factors may shed light on how primary care services may reduce the risk of these avoidable hospital admissions.

Description:

In two-phase sampling for stratification, the second-phase sample is selected by a stratified sample based on the information observed in the first-phase sample. We develop a replication-based bias adjusted variance estimator that extends the method of Kim, Navarro and Fuller (2006). The proposed method is also applicable when the first-phase sampling rate is not negligible and when second-phase sample selection is unequal probability Poisson sampling within each stratum. The proposed method can be extended to variance estimation for two-phase regression estimators. Results from a limited simulation study are presented.

Description:

We analyze the statistical and economic efficiency of different designs of cluster surveys collected in two consecutive time periods, or waves. In an independent design, two cluster samples in two waves are taken independently from one another. In a cluster-panel design, the same clusters are used in both waves, but samples within clusters are taken independently in two time periods. In an observation-panel design, both clusters and observations are retained from one wave of data collection to another. By assuming a simple population structure, we derive design variances and costs of the surveys conducted according to these designs. We first consider a situation in which the interest lies in estimation of the change in the population mean between two time periods, and derive the optimal sample allocations for the three designs of interest. We then propose the utility maximization framework borrowed from microeconomics to illustrate a possible approach to the choice of the design that strives to optimize several variances simultaneously. Incorporating the contemporaneous means and their variances tends to shift the preferences from observation-panel towards simpler panel-cluster and independent designs if the panel mode of data collection is too expensive. We present numeric illustrations demonstrating how a survey designer may want to choose the efficient design given the population parameters and data collection cost.

Description:

This paper examines the efficiency of the Horvitz-Thompson estimator from a systematic probability proportional to size (PPS) sample drawn from a randomly ordered list. In particular, the efficiency is compared with that of an ordinary ratio estimator. The theoretical results are confirmed empirically with of a simulation study using Dutch data from the Producer Price Index.

Description:

This study compares the number of mental health visits reported to the Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health with provincial administrative records, using diagnostic codes to identify visits in the administrative data.

Description:

This working paper profiles Canadian firms involved in the development and production of Bioproducts. It provides data on the number and types of Bioproducts firms in 2009, covering bioproducts revenues, research and development, use of biomass, patents, products, business practices and the impact of government regulations on the sector.

Description:

This paper introduces a U.S. Census Bureau special compilation by presenting four other papers of the current issue: three papers from authors Tillé, Lohr and Thompson as well as a discussion paper from Opsomer.

Description:

This chapter on families, living arrangements and unpaid work examines the family context and living arrangements of women, including their conjugal lives, and for those in couples, whether they are legal marriages or common-law unions, opposite-sex or same-sex couples, and whether or not there are children present. In addition, female lone-parent families are also analysed, as well as women who live in other arrangements, such as alone or with non-relatives. Other patterns related to births, marriages and divorces are explored, as are family characteristics and living arrangements of immigrant women and visible minority women. Finally, the area of unpaid work is examined, specifically, care of household children, domestic work (including housework and household maintenance) and volunteering.

Description:

For a majority of farm families and operators in OECD countries, off-farm or non-farm occupations have become a significant source of income and a major determinant of their well-being. This study investigates the use of off-farm employment by the operator as a tool to reduce the variability of the total income of the farm operator. A two-part model is developed to estimate the impact of farm income risk on the decision to participate in the off-farm labour market and the level of off-farm employment income. Longitudinal farm operator level data for about 31,305 Canadian farm operators from 2001 to 2006 are used for this study. The variability of farm gross market revenue is found to positively affect the likelihood of off-farm work and the level of off-farm employment income, in particular for operators of large commercial farms. The ability of a significant number of operators of larger farms to increase their coping capacity through off-farm employment income suggests the presence of substantial interactions between off-farm income and farm income stabilization policies. Consequently, the focus of agricultural policies on risk management and income stabilization reinforces the linkages between rural and agricultural policies. In particular, it appears that policies designed to facilitate access to off-farm work or to enhance off-farm opportunities, such as rural development programs, could contribute to achieve some objectives underlying agricultural income stabilization programs. These results reinforce the need for coherent rural and agricultural policies, and reinforce the argument for place-based policy that augments the opportunities for all residents in a locality, not just those in a specific sector.

Description: Canada is endowed with substantial reserves of natural resources, from energy and minerals in the ground to accessible stands of timber in forests. This article provides a brief overview of recent trends in Canada's natural resource wealth, which reflects the current dollar value of selected natural resource reserves.

Description:

Hospitalizations related to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) represent an indirect measure of access to primary care and the capacity of the system to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. ACSC-related hospitalizations are commonly referred to as avoidable hospitalizations and thus a measure of the performance of the primary care system. There is limited evidence linking the availability of primary care and ACSC-related hospitalizations. There is, however, growing evidence regarding the role of patient characteristics, such as socioeconomic status, that may place individuals at higher risk for such a hospitalization.

This study represents the first national level assessment of a broad range of factors associated with ACSC-related hospitalizations. The unique feature of this study is the focus on those individuals most at risk - that is, those with at least one ACS condition. The study is based on the linked health survey and hospital data that provide comprehensive information regarding patient characteristics, their access to primary care and whether or not they experienced an ACSC related hospitalization. Understanding the role of these factors may shed light on how primary care services may reduce the risk of these avoidable hospital admissions.

Description:

In two-phase sampling for stratification, the second-phase sample is selected by a stratified sample based on the information observed in the first-phase sample. We develop a replication-based bias adjusted variance estimator that extends the method of Kim, Navarro and Fuller (2006). The proposed method is also applicable when the first-phase sampling rate is not negligible and when second-phase sample selection is unequal probability Poisson sampling within each stratum. The proposed method can be extended to variance estimation for two-phase regression estimators. Results from a limited simulation study are presented.

Description:

We analyze the statistical and economic efficiency of different designs of cluster surveys collected in two consecutive time periods, or waves. In an independent design, two cluster samples in two waves are taken independently from one another. In a cluster-panel design, the same clusters are used in both waves, but samples within clusters are taken independently in two time periods. In an observation-panel design, both clusters and observations are retained from one wave of data collection to another. By assuming a simple population structure, we derive design variances and costs of the surveys conducted according to these designs. We first consider a situation in which the interest lies in estimation of the change in the population mean between two time periods, and derive the optimal sample allocations for the three designs of interest. We then propose the utility maximization framework borrowed from microeconomics to illustrate a possible approach to the choice of the design that strives to optimize several variances simultaneously. Incorporating the contemporaneous means and their variances tends to shift the preferences from observation-panel towards simpler panel-cluster and independent designs if the panel mode of data collection is too expensive. We present numeric illustrations demonstrating how a survey designer may want to choose the efficient design given the population parameters and data collection cost.

Description:

This paper examines the efficiency of the Horvitz-Thompson estimator from a systematic probability proportional to size (PPS) sample drawn from a randomly ordered list. In particular, the efficiency is compared with that of an ordinary ratio estimator. The theoretical results are confirmed empirically with of a simulation study using Dutch data from the Producer Price Index.

Description:

This study compares the number of mental health visits reported to the Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health with provincial administrative records, using diagnostic codes to identify visits in the administrative data.