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Income Inequality and Low Income in Canada: an International Perspective

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  • Picot, Garnett
  • Myles, John

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of income inequality and low-income trends in Canada from an international perspective. It addresses a series of questions, including: - Is family income inequality rising in Canada after decades of stability? - Is Canada a low- or high-income inequality country? - Does Canada have a low or high low-income rate as compared to other western nations? - Does the tax/transfer system reduce low-income rates in Canada more than in the U.S. or in European countries? - Has the low-income rate and the depth of low income risen in Canada during the past two decades? - Does rising low income among immigrants significantly affect the aggregate low-income rate? - Do most spells of low income become long-term, and among which groups is persistent low income concentrated? The paper uses the results from a number of papers to address these questions.

Suggested Citation

  • Picot, Garnett & Myles, John, 2005. "Income Inequality and Low Income in Canada: an International Perspective," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2005240e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    • Handle: RePEc:stc:stcp3e:2005240e
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    File URL: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/11F0019M2005240
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Drolet, Marie & Morissette, Rene, 2000. "To What Extent Are Canadians Exposed to Low Income?," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2000146e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    2. Miles Corak & Andrew Heisz, 1999. "The Intergenerational Earnings and Income Mobility of Canadian Men: Evidence from Longitudinal Income Tax Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(3), pages 504-533.
    3. Zyblock, Miles & Picot, Garnett & Pyper, Wendy, 1999. "Why Do Children Move into and out of Low Income: Changing Labour Market Conditions or Marriage and Divorce," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 1999132e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    4. Lars Osberg, 2000. "Poverty in Canada and the USA: Measurement, Trends and Implications," LIS Working papers 236, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    5. Peter Gottschalk & Timothy M. Smeeding, 1997. "Cross-National Comparisons of Earnings and Income Inequality," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 633-687, June.
    6. Picot, Garnett & Morissette, Rene & Myles, John, 2003. "Low-income Intensity During the 1990s: The Role of Economic Growth, Employment Earnings and Social Transfers," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2003172e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    7. Gary Solon, 2002. "Cross-Country Differences in Intergenerational Earnings Mobility," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 59-66, Summer.
    8. David Card & Thomas Lemieux & W. Craig Riddell, 2003. "Unionization and Wage Inequality: A Comparative Study of the U.S, the U.K., and Canada," NBER Working Papers 9473, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Abdurrahman Aydemir & Mikal Skuterud, 2005. "Explaining the deteriorating entry earnings of Canada's immigrant cohorts, 1966 - 2000," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 641-672, May.
    10. Myles, John, 2000. "The Maturation of Canada's Retirement Income System: Income Levels, Income Inequality and Low Income Among the Elderly," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2000147e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    11. Lars Osberg, 2000. "Poverty in Canada and the United States: measurement, trends, and implications," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(4), pages 847-877, November.
    12. David E. Bloom & Morley Gunderson, 1991. "An Analysis of the Earnings of Canadian Immigrants," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market, pages 321-342, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Picot, Garnett & Green, David A. & Frenette, Marc, 2004. "Rising Income Inequality in the 1990s: An Exploration of Three Data Sources," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2004219e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    14. Hou, Feng & Picot, Garnett, 2003. "The Rise in Low-income Rates Among Immigrants in Canada," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2003198e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    15. Wolfson, Michael & Murphy, Brian B, 1998. "New Views on Inequality Trends in Canada and the United States," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 1998124e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    16. Morissette, Rene & Frenette, Marc, 2003. "Will They Ever Converge? Earnings of Immigrants and Canadian-born Workers over the Last Two Decades," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2003215e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    17. Garnett Picot & René Morissette & John Myles, 2003. "Low-Income Intensity During the 1990s: The Role of Economic Growth, Employment Earnings and Social Transfers," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 29(s1), pages 15-40, January.
    18. John M. Abowd & Richard B. Freeman, 1991. "Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number abow91-1, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mehmet F. Aysan & Roderic Beaujot, 2009. "Welfare Regimes for Aging Populations: No Single Path for Reform," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(4), pages 701-720, December.
    2. Yesim Köksal, Miyase, 2009. "REFERENCE PRICING - Making Parallel Trade in Pharmaceuticals Work," Working Papers in Economics 367, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, revised 01 May 2011.
    3. Heisz, Andrew, 2007. "Income Inequality and Redistribution in Canada: 1976 to 2004," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2007298e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    4. Kenyon Bolton & Sébastien Breau, 2012. "Growing Unequal? Changes in the Distribution of Earnings across Canadian Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(6), pages 1377-1396, May.

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