Three Policies to Improve Productivity Growth in Canada

38

division migration rate is likely a more relevant comparison between mobility in the two
countries because divisions are much closer in size to provinces than states. This rate was
1.41 per cent in 2005, 48 per cent above the Canadian rate. Even the mobility rate
between the four US regions, at 1.08 per cent, was 14 per cent above the mobility rate for
Canada’s ten provinces. It would thus appear that workers in the United States are
significantly more mobile than their counterparts in Canada. This geographical mobility
can be considered a source of labour market flexibility and dynamism and may contribute
somewhat to the lower US unemployment rate.

Summary Table 5: Total Gross Migration and Total Net Migration, 1987-2005
(persons)

2) Productivity gains from geographical mobility

For many reasons, estimation of the productivity gains from geographic mobility
is extremely complex. A full discussion of the issue is well beyond the scope of this
paper. Using two very crude methodologies, this paper does present two estimates of the
output and productivity gains arising from interprovincial migration in Canada.²⁶ The

²⁶ The gains arising from intraprovincial migration are ignored. Intraprovincial migration in large provinces
such as Ontario and Quebec is very significant. The 2001 census estimates that the rate of one-year

<<   <   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   >   >>