Abstract
This compilation of summaries of Working Papers released during July-December 1993 is being issued as a part of the Working Paper series. It is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the research work performed by the staff during the period. Authors of Working Papers are normally staff members of the Fund or consultants, although on occasion outside authors may collaborate with a staff member in writing a paper. The views expressed in the Working Papers or their summaries are, however, those of the authors and should not necessarily be interpreted as representing the views of the Fund. Copies of individual Working Papers and information on subscriptions to the annual series of Working Papers may be obtained from IMF Publication Services, International Monetary Fund, 700 19th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20431. Telephone: (202) 623-7430 Telefax: (202) 623-7201
This paper investigates the hypothesis that the relatively slow recovery of output and employment in Canada after the last recession may be attributable to the short-term negative effects of industrial restructuring that have temporarily overwhelmed the longer-term positive effects and dampened the typical cyclical upswing in the economy. Recent developments in the Canadian labor market are examined to provide a partial assessment of the nature and magnitude of industrial restructuring in Canada.
Measures of dispersion in employment growth at the broadly defined (1-digit) sectoral level reveal little evidence of recent sectoral shifts prompted by restructuring. Within the manufacturing sector, the dispersion of employment growth has been relatively high since 1990, indicating that large interindustry shifts may have occurred within manufacturing. Using labor reallocation measures over a three-year horizon, this paper also finds some evidence that long-term net flows of labor may be occurring across broadly defined sectors of the economy.
The implications of industrial restructuring for the medium- and longterm prospects for the Canadian economy are then examined. Although productivity levels have increased at both the aggregate and sectoral levels over the last few quarters, a large part of this increase may be attributable to relatively low levels of labor hoarding by firms in anticipation of prolonged weak aggregate demand conditions. Evidence of permanent gains in productivity growth arising from restructuring remains elusive.
The rising employment shares of low productivity sectors such as trade and services suggest that, even if the increase in the growth rate of manufacturing productivity proves to be permanent, aggregate labor productivity growth may not show substantial permanent improvement. The evidence presented in this paper suggests that the recent increases in labor productivity may represent a cyclical phenomenon rather than a permanent increase in the rate of growth of productivity.