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The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare many of societies' existing social and economic inequalities, one of which is illustrated in the challenges facing food and farm workers across the food chain. Despite this upsurge in public recognition, the circumstances facing food and farm workers remain unchanged, and this lack of action is reflected within the work of food systems-focused civil society organizations (CSO) in Canada. Several authors have noted the lack of recognition of labor issues within food systems work. This paper further explores the nature of this disengagement, particularly in food systems governance work, and identifies barriers to more meaningful engagement and possible avenues to overcome these challenges. Findings draw from a set of 57 interviews conducted from 2020 to 2023 with a range of food system CSO representatives across Canada, examining their understanding of, and engagement in, food systems governance work and their involvement in labor issues (or lack thereof). The paper concludes that though there exists widespread awareness of the challenges facing food and farm workers, and a desire to engage in a more sustained fashion, many food system CSOs have not yet found the tools or pathways to do so on an organizational level. Several discursive openings are identified that offer an opportunity to leverage the heightened awareness of food and farm workers during the pandemic into concrete collective action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The different life paths of the generation following immigration have become a matter of public discussion and scholarly research in the past decades in many migrant-receiving countries. These differences would be key points for the immigration decision made by first-generation immigrants. This paper adopts a new perspective to study the differences in task supplies and economic status between natives and two generations of immigrants to see their different life paths. This paper estimates differences in task supply and earnings between natives and immigrants in 1970 and 2015, which are the beginning and end of the fifth (and current) wave of immigration to Canada. Furthermore, using a three-fold Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, I link the average weekly wage of workers to their task productivity, and try to find the effects of the returns to tasks as well as different task supplies on the average wage gap between natives and immigrants. Finally, I use ordered probit and logit models to demonstrate and measure the significant effects of immigrant status on an employee's labour market segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gini coefficient for disposable income for Canada in 2019 was approximately the same level it was at in 1995. Underlying this flat recent long‐term pattern is an increase in the level of market earnings inequality in the 1980s and 1990s that Canada shared with other countries followed by a continuing period of flatness in that measure as well. This trend interacted with changes in policy that have, at times, offset earnings inequality trends and at other times exacerbated them. In this paper, we describe these trends and the combination of market and policy forces that drove them. We conclude that explanations rooted in ongoing technology or globalisation forces are less relevant than explanations based on deeper structural changes in the labour market. Those changes affecting earnings inequality were ultimately fully offset by changes in the tax and transfer system as well as labour market policies such as the minimum wage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of top-distribution undercoverage on the Gini coefficient. First, we show that failing to correct for underreporting and nonresponse at the top does not necessarily result in an underestimated Gini coefficient. Then, we establish analytical conditions under which the Gini coefficient of the uncorrected distribution is higher than the Gini coefficient of the true distribution, i.e. the distribution that incorporates underreporting and/or nonresponse. In addition, we propose a Gini approximation based on the Atkinson approximation G = G 1 - p · (1 - S p) + S p to correct for underreporting at the top. Under plausible assumptions, the approximation proposed is very close to the real Gini coefficient. We also show that before correcting for underreporting we need to first address the issue of nonresponse as otherwise the approximation may be strongly upper biased. Finally, this work proposes a procedure to estimate the fraction of nonrespondents at the very top under the assumption that underreported incomes belong to individuals with incomes higher than those reported in a household survey. To evaluate the proposed methodologies, this paper uses Chile and Canada as examples, where we include undistributed business profits—an underreported source of income—to measure income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies performance differences between immigrants working in the regular Canadian labour market and those in the ethnic enclave sector of the economy. First, by studying the effects of education and race on the weekly wage earnings, I find that the returns to education are greater and being a visible minority carries less of a wage penalty for immigrants working in the regular sector compared with those in the enclave sector. Moreover, taking the AMEs (Average Marginal Effects) studies, I document different effects of education and race on both earnings and job segment for these two types of immigrants and propose an explanation. After this, I compute task supply and wage gaps between different types of immigrants in three census years to show differences in assimilation by immigration cohort. Finally, I use regression models to study immigrants' task supply and weekly wages so that we can have a fuller view of the differences in performance between immigrants working in the regular and enclave sectors. I also use these models to analyse differences between immigrants and natives in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the evolution of individual earnings inequality and dynamics in Canada from 1983 to 2016 using tax files and administrative records. Linking individual tax filers to their employers (and rich administrative records on firms) beginning in 2001, it also documents the relationship between the earnings dynamics of workers and the size and growth of their employers. It highlights three main patterns over this period: First, with a few exceptions (sharp increase in top 1% and declining gender gap), Canada has experienced relatively modest changes in overall earnings inequality, volatility, and mobility between 1983 and 2016. Second, earnings inequality and the distribution of earnings growth vary substantially over the business cycle. Third, the earnings dynamics of individuals are strongly related to the size and employment growth of their employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motivation for my research is the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on wealth and income inequality in Canada, focusing on the factors that triggered these inconsistencies. Income inequality has been a concern recently, particularly following the global financial crisis of 2007-09 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Data show that this increase disproportionately in wealth affected low-income earners and younger people, while older individuals benefited from higher retirement income. These findings suggest the potential role of monetary policy in driving changes in income inequality and the extent to which monetary policy decisions reflect observed inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consistent evidence points to the detrimental effects of income inequality on population health. Income inequality may be associated with online gambling, which is of concern since gambling is a risk factor for adverse mental health conditions, such as depression and suicide ideation. Thus, the overall objective of this study is to study the role of income inequality on the odds of participating in online gambling. Data from 74,501 students attending 136 schools participating in the 2018/2019 Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol, Smoking, and Sedentary behaviour (COMPASS) survey were used. The Gini coefficient was calculated based on school census divisions (CD) using the Canada 2016 Census linked with student data. We used multilevel modeling to explore the association between income inequality and self-reported participation in online gambling in the last 30 days, while controlling for individual- and area-level characteristics. We examined whether mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms, psychosocial wellbeing), school connectedness, and access to mental health programs mediate this relationship. Adjusted analysis indicated that a standardized deviation (SD) unit increase in Gini coefficient (OR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.05, 1.30) was associated with increased odds of participating in online gambling. When stratified by gender, the association was significant only among males (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.03, 1.22). The relationship between higher income inequality and greater odds for online gambling may be mediated by depressive and anxiety symptoms, psychosocial well-being, and school connectedness. Evidence points to further health consequences, such as online gambling participation, stemming from exposure to income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction With increasing interest in income-related differences in cancer outcomes, accurate measurement of income is imperative. Misclassification of income can result in wrong conclusions as to the presence of income inequalities. We determined misclassification between individual- and neighborhood-level income and their association with overall survival among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Methods The Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts were used to identify CRC patients diagnosed from 1992 to 2017. We used neighborhood income quintiles from Statistics Canada and created individual income quintiles from the same data sources to be as similar as possible. Agreement between individual and neighborhood income quintiles was measured using cross-tabulations and weighted kappa statistics. Cox proportional hazards and Lin semiparametric hazards models were used to determine the effects of individual and neighborhood income independently and jointly on survival. Analyses were also stratified by rural residence. Results A total of 103 530 CRC patients were included in the cohort. There was poor agreement between individual and neighborhood income with only 17% of respondents assigned to the same quintile (weighted kappa = 0.18). Individual income had a greater effect on relative and additive survival than neighborhood income when modeled separately. The interaction between individual and neighborhood income demonstrated that the most at risk for poor survival were those in the lowest individual and neighborhood income quintiles. Misclassification was more likely to occur for patients residing in rural areas. Conclusion Cancer researchers should avoid using neighborhood income as a proxy for individual income, especially among patients with cancers with demonstrated inequalities by income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Persons with disability (PWD) experience disproportionately high poverty rates in Canada. This trend is apparent especially among youth compared to those who develop disabilities later in life. PWD in poverty have additional needs that increase barriers to full participation in society and translate to higher basic costs for daily living. Despite the existence of income assistance programs in Canada to mitigate income inequalities faced by PWDs, access to these programs can be limited. Objective: To describe use of income assistance for young adults with disability in British Columbia for the development of potential approaches to improve realized access to these programs. Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using British Columbia linked administrative data. We described differences in income assistance use among PWD by the level of special education funding received during primary school education (from most to least; Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Unfunded, and no special education) and family composition. We also provided longitudinal patterns of income assistance use. Results: Of 218,324 young adults, 88% received no special education, 0.1% used Level One, 1.6% used Level Two, 2.9% used Level Three, and 7.1% used Unfunded special education coding. Young adults with Level One special education funding had the highest rates of hospitalizations and continuing care, with no hospitalization due to homelessness. Those with Level Three special education coding had higher rates of hospitalization and hospitalization due to homelessness than Level Two young adults. When transitioning to adulthood initially, Level One and Two funded individuals used relatively more disability income assistance than individuals from the other funding levels. Nearly all BCEA users with higher funded special education codes used this disability-specific program, while lesser funded special education codes used the Temporary Assistance more frequently, for a longer duration and were more likely to be persistent Temporary Assistance users. Conclusions: Sustainable and reliable access to income assistance programs remains an issue across the heterogeneity of needs faced by young adults with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National and international research documents a relationship between greater economic inequality and higher homicide rates. However, much of this work uses simple cross sections at high levels of aggregation rather than longer time series of cities or districts and lacks controls for a more substantial range of confounding factors. Using longitudinal Canadian provincial-level data over the period 1982 to 2017, we occasionally find a positive correlation between inequality and homicides rates. However, the relationship between income inequality and homicide rates in Canada reverses to become negative when looking at Canadian census metropolitan areas (CMAs). Moreover, the province-level result between greater inequality and homicide rates also appears to break down once accounting for regional effects. We conclude that much of the literature that finds a relationship between greater economic inequality and homicide rates needs to be re-examined within a longer time and more disaggregated framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored socioeconomic gradients in self‐rated overall health (SROH) using indicators of materialist (educational attainment and perceived income adequacy) and psychosocial perspectives (subjective social status (SSS)) among adults living in countries with varying levels of income inequality, and the importance of psychosocial stress in mediating these associations. If psychosocial processes at the individual and societal levels correspond, associations between SSS and SROH should be higher among adults in countries with higher income inequality, and psychosocial stress should be a more important mediator of these associations. We used multigroup structural equation models to analyse cross‐sectional data from the International Food Policy Study of adults (n = 22,824) in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the UK and the United States. Associations between SSS and SROH were not higher in more unequal countries, nor was psychosocial stress a more important mediator of these associations. Inequities in SROH in more unequal countries may not predominantly reflect stress‐related pathways of social status differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada. This study aimed to measure and examine trends in socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of colorectal cancer in Canada. Methods: This study is a time trend ecological study based on Canadian Census Division level data constructed from the Canadian Cancer Registry, Canadian Census of Population, and National Household Survey. We assessed trends in income and education inequalities in colorectal cancer incidence in Canada from 1992 to 2010. The age-standardized Concentration index (C ), which measures inequality across all socioeconomic groups, was used to quantify socioeconomic inequalities in colorectal cancer incidence in Canada. Results: The average crude colorectal cancer incidence was found to be 61.52 per 100,000 population over the study period, with males having a higher incidence rate than females (males: 66.98; females: 56.25 per 100,000 population). The crude incidence increased over time and varied by province. The age-standardized C indicated a higher concentration of colorectal cancer incidence among lower income and less-educated neighborhoods in Canada. Income and education inequalities increased over time among males. Conclusion: The concentration of colorectal cancer incidence in low socioeconomic neighborhoods in Canada has implications for primary prevention and screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the extent to which the type of employment, specifically nonstandard work, may contribute to a better understanding of Indigenous earnings disparities. We find that Indigenous workers are overrepresented in nonstandard jobs and that such forms of work are associated with sizable earnings penalties. Although Indigenous earnings disparities are smaller in nonstandard work than in standard employment, the relatively low earnings of many nonstandard jobs are an important factor contributing to the overall economic inequalities experienced by many Indigenous Canadians. Policy responses aimed at improved human capital accumulation are likely to have limited efficacy unless additional barriers that prevent many Indigenous workers from accessing better quality employment and internal labor markets are identified and removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]