Why Have Real Wages Lagged Labour Productivity Growth in Canada?

Why Have Real Wages Lagged Labour Productivity Growth in Canada?

The most direct mechanism by which labour productivity affects living standards is through real wages, that is, wages adjusted to reflect the cost of living. Between 1980 and 2005, the median real earnings of Canadians workers stagnated, while labour productivity rose 37 per cent. This article analy...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Andrew Sharpe, Jean-François Arsenault, Peter Harrison
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre for the Study of Living Standards 2008-09-01
Series:International Productivity Monitor
Subjects:
labour productivity
living standards
wages
canada
Online Access:http://www.csls.ca/ipm/17/IPM-17-sharpe.pdf
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spelling doaj-fa8cfcc7b7334ec196b5ed0b0193115b2020-11-25T03:00:26ZengCentre for the Study of Living StandardsInternational Productivity Monitor1492-97591492-97672008-09-01171627Why Have Real Wages Lagged Labour Productivity Growth in Canada?Andrew Sharpe0Jean-François Arsenault1Peter Harrison2Centre for the Study of Living StandardsCentre for the Study of Living StandardsCentre for the Study of Living StandardsThe most direct mechanism by which labour productivity affects living standards is through real wages, that is, wages adjusted to reflect the cost of living. Between 1980 and 2005, the median real earnings of Canadians workers stagnated, while labour productivity rose 37 per cent. This article analyzes the reasons for this situation. It identifies four factors of roughly equal importance: rising earning inequalities; falling terms of trade for labour; a decrease in labour’s share of GDP; and measurement issues.http://www.csls.ca/ipm/17/IPM-17-sharpe.pdflabour productivityliving standardswagescanada
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Andrew Sharpe
Jean-François Arsenault
Peter Harrison
spellingShingle Andrew Sharpe
Jean-François Arsenault
Peter Harrison
Why Have Real Wages Lagged Labour Productivity Growth in Canada?
International Productivity Monitor
labour productivity
living standards
wages
canada
author_facet Andrew Sharpe
Jean-François Arsenault
Peter Harrison
author_sort Andrew Sharpe
title Why Have Real Wages Lagged Labour Productivity Growth in Canada?
title_short Why Have Real Wages Lagged Labour Productivity Growth in Canada?
title_full Why Have Real Wages Lagged Labour Productivity Growth in Canada?
title_fullStr Why Have Real Wages Lagged Labour Productivity Growth in Canada?
title_full_unstemmed Why Have Real Wages Lagged Labour Productivity Growth in Canada?
title_sort why have real wages lagged labour productivity growth in canada?
publisher Centre for the Study of Living Standards
series International Productivity Monitor
issn 1492-9759
1492-9767
publishDate 2008-09-01
description The most direct mechanism by which labour productivity affects living standards is through real wages, that is, wages adjusted to reflect the cost of living. Between 1980 and 2005, the median real earnings of Canadians workers stagnated, while labour productivity rose 37 per cent. This article analyzes the reasons for this situation. It identifies four factors of roughly equal importance: rising earning inequalities; falling terms of trade for labour; a decrease in labour’s share of GDP; and measurement issues.
topic labour productivity
living standards
wages
canada
url http://www.csls.ca/ipm/17/IPM-17-sharpe.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT andrewsharpe whyhaverealwageslaggedlabourproductivitygrowthincanada
AT jeanfrancoisarsenault whyhaverealwageslaggedlabourproductivitygrowthincanada
AT peterharrison whyhaverealwageslaggedlabourproductivitygrowthincanada
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