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Using 2016 Census data, we compare the odds of employment (full time or self-employment) for visible minority immigrants in Canada with those of non–visible minority immigrants. Intergenerational comparisons of employment outcomes are made because one would expect second- and third-generation immigrants to be less prone to labour market barriers than first-generation immigrants. Estimates based on a logistic regression of employment probability reveal lower employment odds for four out of 10 identified visible minority immigrant groups in comparison with non–visible minority immigrants for all three generations. For first- and second-generation immigrants, the results were mixed, but third-generation immigrants faced significantly lower employment probabilities in all groups of visible minorities with the exception of Chinese and Japanese. A lack of proficiency in official languages (English or French) lowers the employment probability for all groups. It is estimated that post-secondary education (PSE) acquired outside of Canada has a weaker positive association with employment than PSE acquired within Canada. Pre- and post-immigration labour market experience have a weak association with employment.

This paper evaluates the potential impact of education levels of immigrants and Canadian-born on economic growth in Canada and its smaller provinces by using data for the period 2006–2013. We specify a production function in which levels of educational attainments of immigrants and Canadian-born workers are entered separately. Feasible generalized least square (FGLS) method is applied to estimate the production function separately for all immigrants, and also for established immigrants (those who have been in Canada for 10 years or longer). The results show that all educational levels of immigrants have positive and statistically significant effects on economic growth. A similar conclusion applies to Canadian-born workers, although the impacts of their university degree holders is lower than that of immigrant university degree holders. Both immigrant and Canadian-born workers have smaller effects on economic growth in smaller provinces, which have attracted larger numbers of immigrants in recent years. The results also show that the economic growth effects are similar for all and established immigrants. Although these results are consistent with previous findings on discounting of immigrants’ educational credentials, more data are needed to strengthen their validity. We also suggest that the higher economic growth impact of immigrant university degree holders than that of Canadian-born is indicative of greater social returns to higher education resulting from increased diversity of population which in turn, as some previous studies suggest, can result in increased technological innovation, new ideas, and production of a wide variety of goods and services.

We compared the wages of economics degree holders with of those in 49 other fields of study using data from the 2006 Canadian population census. At the undergraduate level, economics majors earned the sixth highest average wage in 2005. When demographic controls were applied, they ranked ninth on the salary scale. When we compared the wages in 15 fields that require students to take math courses, economists ranked in the middle, as they also did when working as managers and professionals. When working as business and finance professionals, economists had wages surpassed only by finance majors. At the graduate level, economics majors had a greater wage advantage over all of the other fields except for business majors. These results are useful for Canadian university economics departments that have been experiencing declining enrolments over the past few years. In addition, we hope they will enable students to make more informed choices regarding their academic discipline. The results also highlight the need to direct greater policy attention towards developing mathematical skills among incoming university students as a prerequisite for them to build analytical skills, the demand for which in the labour market has been demonstrated in some Canadian and US studies.

Immigration policies in most host nations of the west have undergone significant changes in recent years. Based on the four country-specific papers that appear in this section of the journal, and also on our own research, we present an overview of these changes and their context. In all countries, economic considerations play a central role in shaping immigration policy and greater importance is given to scientific research. Several common policy changes are noted in Australia, Canada and New Zealand which include: a shift away from a human capital focus toward more targeted selection based on labor market demand for specific skills, increased emphasis on temporary foreign worker programs, attraction of international students, an overhauling of the refugee system, and regionalization of immigration. In the U.S., while adoption of some of these changes has often surfaced in public policy and academic discussions, legalization of unauthorized migrants remains an important policy debate, with recent arguments focusing on the economic benefits of legalization.

Fertility decline and population out-migration have resulted in a decline of labor force in Atlantic Canada which is projected to slow down economic growth in the region. The region offers competitive advantage in many economic development-related projects such as hydroelectricity development and ship-building, in addition to fisheries and agriculture. Hence, strategies to develop labor force through training, increased utilization of existing labor force, attraction of out-migrants back into the region, and increased immigration are essential for regional economic growth and development. This article is based on the proceedings of 2012 conference of Atlantic Canada Economics Association held in Halifax with the aim of promoting public discussions around regional labor market issues and also on the author’s own research and literature review.

Drawing from over 50 semi-structured interviews performed in three small cities (Charlottetown, Moncton, and St. John’s) and one larger comparator city (Halifax) of the Atlantic Provinces, this chapter addresses social networks from multidisciplinary angles. We see that immigrants hold complex understandings of the meanings of multiculturalism. However, variations emerge relative to perceptions of ‘community’, its value and purpose. While some participants report having strong and positive relationships with kin and other immigrants from their ethno cultural associations, others spoke positively about broader ‘Canadian’ social networks. For younger participants, the idea of maintaining ‘traditions’, for example, through marriage to someone with a common ethno cultural heritage, is a matter of some ambivalence. But variations occur relative to the size of the city and its immigrant populations, as confirmed also by comparisons with a similar sample of respondents from Halifax. However, broadly speaking, universal principles such as honesty and respect are seen as the basis for positive social relations, more so than shared culturally based values. Not surprisingly, the data from this project also reveal notable variation in the types of networks used and, often, how they are deployed based on gender with women’s culturally assigned roles in terms of social reproduction having an impact and, for example, tending to produce ‘broader’ rather than ‘denser’ networks.

For the past two decades, most immigrants who arrived in the advanced nations of the western world originated in less advanced countries of the third world. One of the main barriers to their economic integration, as viewed in the public circles of host nations, is the lack of recognition of their educational credentials based on which the suitability of using education as a signal of labour market success of immigrants can be questioned. Canada is a major immigrant-receiving country whose reliance on immigration to meet shortages of skilled labour has increased, especially in its smaller provinces and rural areas. Using a production function approach, this study explores the degree of substitutability of educational credentials of immigrant and native-born labour. It analyses customized data, based on 2001 Canadian census, for 256 census divisions. While immigrant workers in all educational groups are imperfect substitutes for native-born, those with a university degree are the weakest substitutes. Howeve...

Purpose: The Post-Ureteroscopic Lesion Scale (PULS) offers a simple grading system for the description of ureteral lesions after ureteroscopy. In this article, we present the results of a video-based multicenter evaluation of the inter-rater reliability of clinically important PULS grades 0-3. Methods: Video sequences at the end of ureteroscopy (final passage) were recorded for 100 consecutive patients at a single institution and assessed by experienced urologists (n = 20) and senior residents (n = 17) at 19 international centers. The cohort included only patients with lesions grades 0-3 (with grades 2 and 3 subsumed as 2 + since distinction is defined by an extravasation of contrast medium in fluoroscopy). The gradings were evaluated for inter-rater reliability and in terms of simplicity, validity, comprehensibility, reproducibility, and usefulness. Results: Overall, inter-rater reliability was high (Kendall's W = 0.69, p < 0.001) and was comparable between specialists (Kendall's W = 0.69, p < 0.001) and residents (Kendall's W = 0.71, p < 0.001). The matched ratings showed grade 0 in 43.0 % of patients and grades 1 or 2 + in 44.0 and 13.0 % of patients, respectively. Results of the questionnaires indicated a high degree of acceptance, with an overall rating of 1.76 (1.64-1.93 for different items, scale 1-6). Conclusions: Inter-rater reliability of the endoscopically assessable PULS was high among urologists with different levels of experience in different countries worldwide. The validated PULS system may be used for standardized reporting of ureteral lesions/injuries after ureteroscopy. In addition, PULS will enable more selective standardization of indications for postoperative DJ stenting based on the randomized controlled trials. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

From the turn of the present century until late 2008, house prices in some developed countries, including Canada, rose sharply compared to the increases in their per capita incomes. Some in the public circles of these countries argue that immigration fueled this rise. Each year, Canada admits about 225 000 immigrants, but information on the effect of immigration on house prices in this country is lacking. Our extensive econometric analysis based on panel data at census division levels obtained from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 population censuses indicates a statistically significant but small effect of immigration on prices of privately owned dwellings in Canada. An out migration of the native born from the areas where new immigrants settle, or an increased supply of housing due to expectations of higher demand in those areas may have caused this result.

Emigrants possess knowledge regarding the cultures and social environments of host and sending countries that can help strengthen the economic relationship between these countries. We find this to be true for Pakistan and its selected Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) trading partners on whom data are available. During the period 1990-2003, Pakistan had a positive trade balance, on average, with English speaking countries, and a negative balance with non-English speaking countries of the OECD. Gravity model estimates, obtained in this study, suggest that the annual increase in the number of Pakistani emigrants in OECD countries accounted for a quarter of the annual growth in Pakistani net exports to the English speaking countries over the period of this study. Pakistan’s trade deficit with non-English speaking countries would have been at least 46 per cent higher had there been no increase in its expatriate population in those countries which appears to be engaged in import substitution activities. This study provides important input pertaining to the debate on the economic effects of emigration from developing countries.

A health care demand model is estimated for each province in Pakistan to explain the outpatient visits to government hospitals over the period 1989-2006. The explanatory variables include the number of government hospitals per capita, doctors’ fee per visit at a private clinic, income per capita, the average price of medicine and the number of outpatient visits per capita in the previous period. All variables are significant determinants of the demand for health care in at least one province but their signs, magnitudes and the levels of significance vary. These variations may be attributed to cultural, social and religious factors that vary across provinces. Variations in health care quality offered at public hospitals may also be a factor. These factors and improved accessibility of health care facilities should be the focus of public policy aimed at increasing the usage of public sector health care facilities in Pakistan. JEL classification: I110, I180, O150 Keywords: Health Care, Hospitals, Human Resources, Policy, Public Health

Urolithiasis: Basic Science and Clinical Practice is a comprehensive text that assists urologists in defining the best choice of treatment for each case through a balanced presentation of underlying science, diagnostic methods and practical tips, with additional discussions on educational issues, costs and management of resources. This user-friendly practical resource is replete with full-color illustrations and radiographs, covering all aspects of stone disease, and offering perspectives from Europe, the Americas, China, South Asia, Africa, and Australia. Topics include the biochemical and physiological basis of stone formation, treatment options, complications, assessment of techniques and technologies available, and guidelines on the prevention of stone recurrence. Urolithiasis: Basic Science and Clinical Practice is the definitive text on stone disease and is a must read for young consultants starting a new practice, and urologists in residence and training. © Springer-Verlag London 2012.

A workshop was conducted as part of the International Metropolis Conference held in Vienna, Austria in September 2003. The Metropolis Project is meant to facilitate research in the area of migration that can optimally inform policy. In this context, a workshop was conducted with the objective of discussing how policy-relevant research on discrimination could be conducted internationally. Four broad areas were addressed: ‘key stakeholder’ involvement, obtaining ethical and other forms of approval, international, national and local funding opportunities, and qualitative and quantitative methodology and questionnaire development. Viewpoints represented included those of non-governmental organizations, researchers, health professionals, and policy-makers/implementers. Countries represented in the discussions included Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Key conceptual differences included how best to define discrimination, societal acknowledgement of discrimination, the meaning of ‘race’, ‘racism’, ‘national’, and ‘migrant’, and perceptions of national identity.