Non-Cognitive Skills: How Much Do They Matter for Earnings in Canada?

Evidence from different countries suggests that non-cognitive skills play an important role in wage determination and overall social outcomes, but studies for Canada are scarce. We contribute to filling this gap by estimating wage regressions with the Big Five traits using the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults. Our results indicate that conscientiousness is positively associated with wages, while agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism are associated with negative returns, with higher magnitudes on agreeableness and conscientiousness for females. Cognitive ability has the highest estimated wage return so, while significant, non-cognitive skills do not seem to be the most important wage determinant

Would an Increase in High-Skilled Immigration in Canada Benefit Workers?

This study examines the economic and welfare effects of raising the number of high-skilled immigrants in Canada. It uses a life-cycle applied general equilibrium model with endogenous time allocation decisions between work, education, and leisure. According to the simulation results, raising the number of high-skilled immigrants would boost productive capacity and labour productivity but could lower real GDP per capita. In addition, by raising the supply of high-skilled workers, more high-skilled immigrants would reduce the skill premium and the return to human capital. This in turn would lower incentives for young adults to invest in human capital and have a dampening effect on the domestic supply of skilled workers. Finally, it is found that more high-skilled immigrants would be welfare enhancing for medium- and low-skilled workers but welfare decreasing for high-skilled workers

Financial Factors and Labour Market Transitions of Older Workers in Canada

This paper looks at the influence of financial factors on the labour market transitions of Canadian older workers. Also, in contrast to previous studies, the analysis focuses on transitions between full-time work, part-time work, and retirement. Sequential annual observations of employment and retirement choices are examined for samples of full-time and part-time workers, drawn from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), 2001–2006. Measures of potential pension wealth and one-year and peak pension accruals are imputed using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, 1973–1997, and the SLID, 1997–2006. Regression results indicate that financial factors influence workers to move from full-time to part-time jobs and support the evidence found in previous studies that retirement is usually a process, not a single event. Also, an increase in pension accruals increases the probability of working full-time for lower-income earners only. Among nonfinancial factors, a negative health shock increases the probability of working part-time or retiring for full-time workers but has little effect on the labour market transitions of part-time workers. Finally, these results suggest that policies to encourage phased retirement are unlikely to have a significant labour market effect since bridge employment is already a common transition process among older workers

PET Imaging in Altered States of Consciousness: Coma, Sleep, and Hypnosis

peer reviewedPositron emission tomography (PET) allows studies of cerebral metabolism and blood flow and has been widely used to investigate physiological mechanisms underlying altered states of consciousness. Consciousness is characterized by two components: wakefulness and awareness. In this chapter, we review the current literature on brain metabolism during pathological loss of consciousness (vegetative/unresponsive or minimally conscious states), sleep (in healthy subjects and in patients with insomnia), and under hypnosis. By identifying brain areas specifically involved in conscious processing, these studies have contributed to our understanding of the underlying physiology of consciousness. The precuneal and cingulate cortices, for example, seem to be key areas for maintaining conscious awareness. FDG-PET further allowed the identification of the minimal energetic requirement for conscious awareness in this population, which corresponds to 42% of normal cortical activity. Up to now, it is the most accurate neuroimaging tool regarding the diagnosis of patients with disorders of consciousness. In the future, its use as part of multimodal assessment could improve diagnosis and prognosis in this challenging population. In sleep, a greater activity of the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and the fronto-parietal areas during non rapid eye movement sleep also seems to play a role in disorders such as insomnia. Other areas such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, or temporo-occipital cortex seem to play a role in different states such as rapid eye movement sleep and hypnosis. PET studies permit a better comprehension of the neural correlates of consciousness and to identify the implication of specific neural areas and networks in altered states of consciousness in post-comatose patients, sleep and induced hypnosis

Can they Feel? The Capacity for Pain and Pleasure in Patients with Cognitive Motor Dissociation

Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome is a disorder of consciousness wherein a patient is awake, but completely non-responsive at the bedside. However, research has shown that a minority of these patients remain aware, and can demonstrate their awareness via functional neuroimaging; these patients are referred to as having ‘cognitive motor dissociation’ (CMD). Unfortunately, we have little insight into the subjective experiences of these patients, making it difficult to determine how best to promote their well-being. In this paper, I argue that the capacity to experience pain or pleasure (sentience) is a key component of well-being for these patients. While patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome are believed to be incapable of experiencing pain or pleasure, I argue that there is evidence to support the notion that CMD patients likely can experience pain and pleasure. I analyze current neuroscientific research into the mechanisms of pain experience in patients with disorders of consciousness, and provide an explanation for why CMD patients likely can experience physical pain. I then do the same for physical pleasure. I conclude that providing these patients with pleasurable experiences, and avoiding subjecting them to pain, are viable means of promoting their well-being