Monthly Archives: April 2018
Some basic facts about the distribution of sex
The Canadian Community Health Survey is an annual voluntary survey, carried out by Statistics Canada, that collects information about a wide range of health outcomes and risk factors. As part of the 2013-14 survey, 47,764 Canadians between the ages of 15 and 49 were asked about their sexual activity – whether or not they have […]
Are the returns to university education falling?
[Updated to fix coding errors in some of my graphs.] Prices are determined by supply and demand. The supply of university-educated Canadians, relative to the supply of college or high school graduates, is increasing. University participation rates have been climbing for decades (Source: CAUT): Canada's points based immigration system, which prioritizes those with valuable skills, […]
Natural Resources, Living Standards and Inequality
Kevin Milligan had an op-ed in the Globe and Mail a few days ago drawing the link between natural resource development, middle class incomes and inequality. The point essentially was: “Without income derived from the resource boom, Canadian inequality and the well-being of the Canadian middle class would be much worse than we’ve experienced.” The […]
In the war between generations, will universities get caught in the cross-fire?
Canada's baby boomers are now in their late 50s and 60s. They're done with university. Their kids, for the most part, are done with university. Sure, at some point the boomers' grandchildren might want a university education, but that is not an immediate or pressing concern. More urgent, from the baby boomer's point of view, […]
“Trickle Down”, “Magic Dirt”, memes and deep parameters
"Trickle Down Theory" is a meme used (mostly by non-economists) to ridicule certain economic policies and the theories on which those policies are supposedly based. My first year students sometimes ask me to explain it to them, not understanding that it's a meme and not a theory. "Magic Dirt Theory" is a similar meme, of […]
The evolving gender gap in student satisfaction
For 30 years, Canada's National Graduates Survey (NGS) has asking college and university graduates, "If you could choose again, would you select the same field of study or specialization that you completed?" As I explain here, the precise wording of the "would you do it again" question has changed over time, as has the placement […]
Do students choosing liberal arts degrees regret it?
One way to measure students' satisfaction with their educational experience is to ask graduates, if they could choose again, would they select the same program. Canada's National Graduates Survey (NGS) has been asking some variation on that question since 1982. The data has many limitations, as I explain in this post. But the little we can […]
The National Graduates Survey, student satisfaction, and the politics of statistics
One way to measure students' satisfaction with their educational experiences is to ask graduates, if they could choose again, if they would select the same program. Canada's National Graduates Survey (NGS) has been asking some variation on that question since 1982. The questions asked, and the percentage of students saying that they would select the […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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