Analysis

Description:

A Hot Deck imputation procedure is defined to be one where an incomplete response is completed by using values from one or more other records on the same file and the choice of these records varies with the record requiring imputation.

General approaches to Hot Deck imputation are outlined, with emphasis on the interaction between the edit constraints and the imputation procedures. Distance functions can be constructed on a mixture of categorical and numeric fields, can be modified to take account of the relative importance of fields and can discriminate against less desirable donors. Matching fields may be correlated with missing fields, may be linked with missing fields by edits or may be natural stratification variables; but increasing the number of matching fields does not necessarily result in a better match. It is important to audit the imputation process and to summarize its performance.

Hot Deck procedures should be evaluated to study the bias and reliability of the estimates, donor usage and frequency of imputation failure in terms of a variety of conditions of the data and variations of the imputation procedure. It appears that the only generally available approach to evaluation is by simulation.

Description:

This paper looks at the current state of development of social statistics in Canada. Some key concepts related to statistics and social information are defined and discussed. The availability and analysis of administrative data is highlighted, along with the need for social surveys. Suggestions are made about the types of data analysis needed for the development of social decision models to meet policy requirements. Finally, an outline of priorities for future work toward the effective use of social statistics is given.

Description: This paper discusses the management of information within the context of the information industry and indicates some likely future trends related thereto. The information industry itself is first briefly described. Then the process used in producing information, the organizational structure required for such production, and the legislation relating to the information industry are discussed in turn. Finally, some approaches to solving the problems of the future are suggested.

Description: This paper includes a description of interviewer techniques and procedures used to minimize non-response, an outline of methods used to monitor and control non-response, and a discussion of how non-respondents are treated in the data processing and estimation stages of the Canadian Labour Force Survey. Recent non-response rates as well as data on the characteristics of non-respondents are also given. It is concluded that a yearly non-response rate of approximately 5 percent is probably the best that can be achieved in the Labour Force Survey.

Description: Two methods for estimating the correlated response variance of a survey estimator are studied by way of both theoretical comparison and empirical investigation. The variance of these estimators is discussed and the effects of outliers examined. Finally, an improved estimator is developed and evaluated.

Description: Let U = {1, 2, …, i, …, N} be a finite population of N identifiable units. A known “size measure” x_i is associated with unit i; i = 1, 2, ..., N. A sampling procedure for selecting a sample of size n (2 < n < N) with probability proportional to size (PPS) and without replacement (WOR) from the population is proposed. With this method, the inclusion probability is proportional to size (IPPS) for each unit in the population.

Description: Approximate cutoff rules for stratifying a population into a take-all and take-some universe have been given by Dalenius (1950) and Glasser (1962). They expressed the cutoff value (that value which delineates the boundary of the take-all and take-some) as a function of the mean, the sampling weight and the population variance. Their cutoff values were derived on the assumption that a single random sample of size n was to be drawn without replacement from the population of size N.

In the present context, exact and approximate cutoff rules have been worked out for a similar situation. Rather than providing the sample size of the sample, the precision (coefficient of variation) is given. Note that in many sampling situations, the sampler is given a set of objectives in terms of reliability and not sample size. The result is particularly useful for determining the take-all - take-some boundary for samples drawn from a known population. The procedure is also extended to ratio estimation.

Description: Under a sequential sampling plan, the proportion defective in the sample is generally a biased estimator of the population value. In this paper, an unbiased estimator is given. Also, an unbiased estimator of its variance is derived. These results are applied to an estimation problem from the 1976 Canadian Census.

Description: I.P. Fellegi and D. Holt proposed a systematic approach to automatic edit and imputation. An implementation of this proposal was a Generalized Edit and Imputation System by the Hot-Deck Approach, that was utilized in the edit and imputation of the 1976 Canadian Census of Population and Housing. This paper discusses that application, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology with some empirical evidence. The system will be considered in relation to the general issues of the edit and imputation of survey data. Some directions for future developments will also be considered.

Description: Owners of small businesses complain about the quantity of forms they are required to collectors of statistics. Administrative data are an alternative source but do not usually include all the information required by the survey takers.

The “Tax Data Imputation System” makes use of tax data collected from a large number of businesses by Revenue Canada and data obtained by sample survey for a small subset of these businesses. Survey data is imputed (estimated) for all the businesses not actually surveyed using a “hot-deck” technique, with adjustments made to ensure certain edit rules are satisfied. The results of a simulation study suggest that this procedure has reasonable statistical properties. Estimators (of means or totals) are unbiased with variances of comparable size to the corresponding ratio estimators.

Description: Are you feeling like it's a little bit harder to bring home the bacon... from the grocery store? The latest data indicate that food prices have mostly stabilized... but why does it feel like the cost of feeding your family is still going up? Today, we're talking food inflation with StatCan's resident smart cookie Taylor Mitchell.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: This infographic uses data from the 2018 and 2022 Canadian Internet Use Survey to examine patterns and trends in online banking by population groups.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: From January 2nd to February 5th, 2024, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. The purpose of this survey is to collect information on businesses in Canada related to emerging issues. This iteration of the survey focuses on business expectations and business conditions in Canada. In addition, the questionnaire for the first quarter of 2024 includes a component specifically for non-profit organizations (NPOs). The intent of this set of questions is to address a present data gap and to provide a better understanding of the non-profit sector. This infographic presents key results from this.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: This infographic presents some highlights from the 2022 Canadian Income Survey data.

Description: Canada’s Poverty Reduction Strategy introduced the Official Poverty Line for Canada and a dashboard of 12 indicators to track progress on poverty reduction for Canadians and their households. This infographic presents trend information for Canada's official poverty rate and the associated 12 indicators.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: The current study uses the 2011 National Household Survey and the 2016 and 2021 Censuses to provide data on the number of Indigenous foster children in private households, foster child rates, and disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous foster care rates between 2011 and 2021. Subsequently, select sociodemographic characteristics of Indigenous children in foster care and household characteristics are explored using the 2021 Census.

Description: Oral health is a crucial component of overall health, influencing both physical and mental well-being. Yet, despite the important role that access to and use of oral health care services play in maintaining optimal oral health, substantial disparities remain in access to oral health care services across population groups in Canada. Using data from the 2022 Canadian Community Health Survey, this study examines the association of dental insurance with oral health care access and use in Canada while accounting for income and sociodemographic factors. It contributes to a baseline of oral health care disparities before the implementation of the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Description: Children’s oral health can affect functional capacities, psychological well-being, and social integration. Additionally, health behaviours established in childhood extend into adulthood and can influence oral health outcomes later in life. Using data from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, this study investigates the association between dental insurance, income, and dental care access for Canadian children and youth aged 1 to 17 years. It contributes to a baseline understanding of oral health care use before the implementation of the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Description: This guide is for users of the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP). The data for the products associated with this issue are derived from integrating Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) administrative data with other administrative data on earnings. Statistics Canada has derived a series of annual indicators on the labour market outcomes of public postsecondary graduates including median employment income by educational qualification, field of study, age group, gender and status of student in Canada for Canada, the provinces and the territories combined.

Description: This Juristat article uses data from the 2022/2023 Survey of Residential Facilities for Victims of Abuse (SRFVA) to present results on residential facilities in Canada that are primarily mandated to serve victims of abuse. Results presented in this article refer to two distinct time periods. The first focuses on a 12-month period within 2022/2023, and provides an overview of facility characteristics, touching on shelter admissions, availability of accommodations, and general services provided. The second focuses on information for a predetermined snapshot date of April 13, 2023, and presents a profile of residents using residential facilities on this date.

Description: Using British Columbia Ministry of Education administrative school data within the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform, this study compared the proportions of high school graduates among Grade 12 students with and without special needs across nine cohorts from 2010/2011 to 2018/2019 before and after controlling for several sociodemographic characteristics.

Description: Using data from the 2022 Canadian Social Survey Wave 6 (Well-being and caregiving), this study explores unpaid caregiving in the past 12 months for care-dependent groups (children under 15 years old or adults and youth over 15 years old with a long-term condition or disability). This paper explores: Who are the unpaid caregivers, including "sandwich" caregivers? How much unpaid care is provided and to whom? What are the impacts of this unpaid caregiving on well-being, especially the gendered differences?

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: The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) draws from a wide variety of data sources to provide information on the school-age population, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, transitions, and labour market outcomes.

PCEIP products include tables, fact sheets, reports and a methodological handbook. They present indicators for all of Canada, the provinces, the territories, as well as selected international comparisons and comparisons over time.

The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) is an ongoing initiative of the Canadian Education Statistics Council, a partnership between Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada that provides a set of statistical measures on education systems in Canada.

Description: The agricultural sector in Canada has relied increasingly on temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to fill the longstanding labour shortage. The number of TFWs in crop production, animal production and aquaculture, and support activities for crop and animal production more than tripled between 2005 and 2020. This study examines the transition to permanent residency (PR) of TFWs in primary agriculture and the retention in the sector among those who obtained PR. The study focuses on TFWs whose first employment was in primary agriculture and who entered the sector between 2005 and 2020.

Description:

The contributors to this book examine two broad themes related to the well-being of Canadian youth. First, they document the nature of the labour market facing young adults and how it has changed since the early 1970s. Second, the authors examine how families, communities, and the public sector influence some of the ways in which children become successful and self-reliant adults. The motivation for bringing these essays together has to do with the increasing importance of child well-being in public discourse and the development of public policy. The major message to emerge is that the future of Canada's children is both a good news, and a bad news story. Labour markets have changed dramatically, and on average it is now more difficult to obtain a strong foothold that will lead to increasing prosperity. Many young Canadians, however, are well prepared by their family and community backgrounds to deal with these new challenges, and as young parents are in a position to pass this heritage on to their children. However, this has not been the case for an increasingly larger minority, a group whose children in turn may face greater than average challenges in getting ahead in life. A companion volume published in February of 1998 by Statistics Canada called Government finances and generational equity examines the operation of government taxes and transfers from a generational perspective, focusing on the conduct of fiscal policy and the relative status of individuals in successive generations.

Description:

These highlights provide a brief summary of the report "Literacy utilization in Canadian workplaces", the latest monograph released using data from the International Adult Literacy Survey. This report examines the fit or mismatch between the job requirements of Canadian workers and their literacy skills, thus profiling patterns of literacy usage and under- usage in the Canadian labour market.

Description:

This report, based on results from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), focuses on changes in the family environment, specifically, common-law unions, custody arrangements and financial issues. The NLSCY is a comprehensive survey which will follow the development of children in Canada and paint a picture of their lives.

Description:

These highlights provide a brief summary of the report " The Value of Words: Literacy and Economic Security in Canada", the latest monograph released using data from the International Adult Literacy Survey. Canada, like many other industrialized countries, is increasingly being forced to face the literacy problem within its own borders. Over the past decade, the issue has become more prominent on the national policy and research agenda. There has been little systematic research in Canada, however, on the relationship between literacy and income security. Using data from the Canadian component of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), this study seeks to fill this research gap. An in-depth exploration of the links between literacy and economic security will build on existing knowledge and will also provide useful insights that will help shape public policy.

Description:

This publication presents data, charts, map and analytical text on trips and socio-economic characteristics of Canadians travelling within Canada. Trip information includes purpose, activities, mode of transportation, length of stay, origin and destination, and expenditures. In addition to providing national data, the publication also includes some tables presenting provincial and metropolitan detail.

Description:

Based on a presentation by Dr. Ivan Fellegi to the Federal Deputy Ministers' Committee on the Economic Renewal of Rural Canada in September l996, Understanding rural Canada uses charts and maps to present information on: rural demography showing population change and net migration by census division for the most recent 5-year period (l989 to l994); a focus on rural youth including information on education attained, plans for further education and ablility to use computers; rural employment, rural unemployment, rural employment in growing sectors and rural employment by small businesses; a classification of census divisions by level of average incomes and change in average incomes to show that many rural areas have lower incomes and their incomes are falling further behind; and, a typology of census divisions where rural areas are classified to rural nirvana areas, agro-rural areas, rural enclave areas, rural resourced areas and native north areas. This presentation was an outgrowth of the publication Rural Canada: a profile published by the federal Interdepartmental Committee on Rural and Remote Canada in March, l995.

Description:

Bankruptcy rates have been increasing in Canada. Almost half of the firms in Canada that go bankrupt do so primarily because of their own deficiencies rather than externally generated problems. They do not develop the basic internal strengths to survive. Overall weakness in management, combined with a lack of market for their product, cause these firms to fail.

This study suggests that the underlying factor contributing to financial difficulties is management failure rather than external factors associated with imperfect capital markets. Many bankrupt firms face problems in attaining financing in capital markets; but, it is the internal lack of managerial expertise in many of these firms that prevents exploration of different financing options.

Description:

"Generational equity" is a topic that has gradually risen higher and higher on the agenda of governments at all levels. In fact, it is a matter not just for government policy, but a topic that touches many Canadians directly: young and old, parents and grandparents. Canadian policy makers increasingly have to deal with issues associated with the relative status of individuals between successive generations. The reform of public pension programs presents the most obvious example, but there are many other developments that raise the same type of issue. Indeed, the heightened concern over government fiscal policies is due in large part to the readiness of many to view government deficits and debt as a burden on future generations. Generational equity, however, is also a concern of individual Canadians and their families. The allocation of resources between the young and the old within the family is becoming an increasingly important issue for many, especially in light not only of an aging population but also the belief that those just entering the labour force will likely not attain the standard of living to which their parents have become accustomed.

The contributors to this book examine the operation of government taxes and expenditures from a generational perspective. In part the motivation for bringing these essays together is to offer comprehensive and up-to-date information on the age incidence of government finances. This motivation, however, also has to do with the development of a new accounting framework, Generational Accounting, that has gained some currency in many industrialized countries, particularly in the United States. It is a truism to say that good analysis requires good data, and certainly Statistic Canada's central role is to offer high-quality data in support of analysis and decision making. But the opposite is equally true, if not as obvious: good data requires good analysis. That is to say, new analytical frameworks often highlight the need to organize existing data in different ways, as well as the need for the development of new types of data. This is certainly one of several reasons that Statistics Canada has sought to develop a strong analytical capacity, and to maintain strong ties with the research community. This book is meant to contribute to this process by examining Canadian data through the lens of Generational Accounting, and by analyzing some of the issues that arise.

Description:

On September 11 and 12, 1996 Statistics Canada's Business and Trade Statistics Field sponsored its eight annual conference on statistics and economic analysis in Ottawa. The theme of the conference was Canadian Economic Structural Change in the Age of NAFTA. Guest speakers and submitted papers discussed a variety of topics related to economic restructuring and the NAFTA.

Description:

These highlights provide a brief summary of the report 'Employee training: an international perspective', the latest monograph released using data from the International Adult Literacy Survey. The report provides new insights into training issues in seven countries: Canada, the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany and Sweden. The study examines full-time paid workers between the ages of 25 and 60, who had been employed for at least 42 weeks in the 12 months preceding the survey (about nine months in the previous year). (Although the self-employed account for a growing share of the work force, they are not included in the analysis.)