Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal Wage Gaps in Canada: Evidence from the 2011 National Household Survey

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Lamb ◽  
Margaret Yap ◽  
Michael Turk
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Wage Differentials ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Wage Gaps ◽  
National Household Survey ◽  
Aboriginal Identity

The fact that Aboriginal peoples in Canada have experienced sizable and persistent earnings disadvantages is well documented. However, the most recent estimates of Aboriginal-non-Aboriginal wage differentials utilize data from the 2006 Census. The present analysis seeks to address this gap by providing more recent estimates of Aboriginal earnings disparities for various groups of full-time, full-year workers using data from the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS). We estimate and decompose Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal wage gaps at the mean for a number of different Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups living on- and off- reserve. We find that, consistent with previous literature, Aboriginal peoples continue to experience sizable earnings disparities relative to their non-Aboriginal counterparts. We find that Aboriginal Identity respondents living on-reserve experience the largest earnings disparity, followed by males who identify as First Nations and live off-reserve. Respondents who report Aboriginal ancestry, but who do not identify as Aboriginal persons, experience the smallest earnings disadvantage. Results of the decomposition analysis reveal that, unsurprisingly, educational attainment is the most salient factor contributing to the explained portion of the earnings disparity between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians. Somewhat disconcerting, we find that where wage disparities are the largest, the explained proportion of the gap tends to be the smallest. Although previous studies can only serve as a rough comparator, relative to earlier estimates of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal wage differentials using previous census periods, we find that earnings disparities among Aboriginal ancestry groups have remained relatively constant; wage gaps for Aboriginal identity groups have narrowed slightly; while the earnings disadvantage has widened for Aboriginal identity persons living on-reserve. Research and policy programs aimed at improving educational attainment and access to employment among Indigenous peoples are likely worthwhile initiatives. However, more research is needed on the potential role of discrimination in contributing to the persistent earnings disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons in Canada.

scholarly journals Indigenous Language Knowledge and Educational Attainment Among First Nations People: Trends Over Time

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyne Bougie ◽  
Dafna Kohen ◽  
Anne Guèvremont
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Nations People ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
National Household Survey ◽  
Trends Over Time ◽  
First Nations People ◽  
Over Time

This study investigated whether associations between Indigenous language knowledge and educational outcomes might be changing for cohorts of language speakers over time. Using Census and National Household Survey data, educational attainment for First Nations people aged 20 to 34 was examined at four time points (1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011), separately for those able versus unable to speak an Indigenous language and separately for those living on and off reserve. Findings point to improvements in levels of education for Indigenous language speakers among First Nations people living on and off reserve. Findings should be interpreted with caution as differences in educational attainment may reflect differences between language speakers and non-speakers that go beyond the ability to speak an Indigenous language.

scholarly journals Who is Aboriginal? Variability in Aboriginal Identification between the Census and the APS in 2006 and 2012

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Durand ◽  
Yves-Emmanuel Massé-François ◽  
Michael Smith ◽  
Luis Patricio Pena Ibarra
Keyword(s):  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Canadian Data ◽  
Aboriginal Populations ◽  
Long Form ◽  
National Household Survey ◽  
Public Scrutiny ◽  
Do So

Over the last 50 years, censuses have shown very substantial increases in the estimated sizes of Aboriginal populations in settler states such as Canada. Since these increases cannot be explained by demographic factors alone, authors have proposed that, as the situation of Aboriginal people has been under increasing public scrutiny, it has become more socially acceptable to report that one is Aboriginal. This may be an explanation for increases between censuses that are conducted five or ten years apart, but is such an explanation plausible when comparing answers provided within six months of one another? This article explores the factors associated with short-term fluidity in Aboriginal identification. In order to do so, it uses Canadian data collected twice from among the same members of the defined “population of Aboriginal identity” over a six-month period, in 2006 and in 2011–2012. Close to a third of all Canadians who “identified” as Aboriginals in the Census long form or in the National Household Survey (NHS) changed their answers when asked the same question in the Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS). Fluidity in identification depends on methodological factors such as mode of administration and question wording. It also depends on individual and contextual factors. Socioeconomic status and residence in an urban area or in specific regions of Canada are the main factors that differentiate the three groups analyzed here—the Fluid Indian/Métis, the New Métis and the New Indians—from the group that has a stable identification. In light of this finding, we think that statistics produced on Aboriginal peoples in Canada from the standard sources should be treated with some caution. Using the APS identification numbers, for example, instead of those of the Census/NHS would likely reduce the estimated differences between “non-Aboriginals” and “Aboriginals,” at least in terms of education. 

scholarly journals Fertility of Aboriginal People in Canada: An Overview of Trends at the Turn of the 21st Century

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Dominique Morency ◽  
Éric Caron-Malenfant ◽  
David Daignault
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
First Nations ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Fertility Rates ◽  
Aboriginal Population ◽  
National Household Survey

This paper aims to give an overview of trends regarding the fertility of Aboriginal people in Canada at the turn of the 21st century (mostly between 1996 and 2011). Total fertility rates and fertility rates by age group are presented for the Aboriginal population as a whole, but also for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, as well as for the population with Registered Indian status, using various data sources (past censuses, National Household Survey, vital statistics, and Indian Register). Results of a multivariate analysis are presented. This multivariate analysis is conducted in order to improve our understanding of the dynamic behind the fertility behaviour of the Aboriginal population.

OCCUPATION, JOB CHARACTERISTICS, AND THE USE OF ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Zhang ◽  
William E. Snizek
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Organizational Stress ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Alcohol And Drug Use ◽  
Department Of Labor ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
National Household Survey ◽  
Alcohol And Other Drugs

This study uses detailed information from the Department of Labor (O'NET 98) concerning the characteristics and content of 1,122 occupations, and combines these data with information on alcohol and drug use collected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in their 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). Using a merged data set, based on 7,477 full-time workers, weighted logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between eight occupational and job dimensions and workers' current and prior use of alcohol and drugs. Results show that steady employment or job security has the most pronounced negative effect on alcohol and drug use, while characteristics such as the pace of activity, job independence, and skills utilization to include feelings of accomplishment have little or no effect on employees' alcohol and drug use. Furthermore, the etiology of cocaine use appears quite different from that of alcohol and other types of drug use: all else being equal, employees' odds of using cocaine, when working in an occupation with greater job variety, decrease by 64 percent. However, employees in occupations with greater job autonomy are about 4 times more likely to use cocaine than are employees in jobs with less autonomy. These findings suggest that occupational conditions have a discernible influence on alcohol and drug use among employees, albeit in more complex ways than those suggested by much of the organizational stress and occupational subcultural literature.

scholarly journals Indigenous Access to Skilled Jobs in the Canadian Forest Industry: The Role of Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian G Cahill
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Forest Industry ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
National Household Survey ◽  
Using Data

In this article, the effect of education on the skill level of jobs held by Indigenous people working in the Canadian forest industry is examined. A skill index based on detailed occupation is used as the dependent variable in ordered logit models estimated using data from Statistics Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey (NHS). Results are obtained by gender. In the case of men, for Métis (a specific mixed European and Indigenous culture) and for First Nations living off reserve estimates of the effect of education are similar to those for non-Indigenous people. The estimated effect is lower for those Indigenous people living on reserve, particularly for those whose employment is also on the reserve. Results for women are similar, though often not statistically significant due to the limited sample size. High school graduation appears insufficient to provide access to better jobs, whereas post-secondary education, including trade certificates and community college, is very effective. The article concludes with a suggestion that, while closing the lag in Indigenous rates of high school education is critical, this must provide a gateway to further education. A discussion provides more policy context.

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