Syed Ather Hussain Akbari - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Syed Ather Hussain Akbari

Canadian Public Policy-analyse De Politiques, Dec 1, 1989

Page 1. The Benefits of Immigrants to Canada: Evidence on Tax and Public Services ATHER H. AKBARI... more Page 1. The Benefits of Immigrants to Canada: Evidence on Tax and Public Services ATHER H. AKBARI* Department of Economics Saint Mary's University On examine, a l'aide de micro-donn6es du Recensement de 1981, l ...

Journal of International Migration and Integration, Mar 18, 2011

Despite recent interest in regionalization of immigration in host nations, most studies have anal... more Despite recent interest in regionalization of immigration in host nations, most studies have analyzed immigrants' economic performance by largely focusing on their overall national performance. A regional analysis is necessary because changing geographic distribution of immigrants can affect their economic performance positively or negatively. Present paper focuses on Atlantic Canada whose share in annual Canadian immigrant inflows has been traditionally low, but where recent policy initiatives have resulted in greater attraction and retention of immigrants. Immigrants are found performing better than non-immigrants in regional labour market. The importance of regional analysis of immigrants' economic performance and contribution in host nations is highlighted. Résumé Malgré l'intérêt récent sur la régionalisation de l'immigration dans les pays hôtes la plupart des études ont analysé la performance économique des immigrants en grande partie en se concentrant sur leur performance nationale. Une analyse régionale est nécessaire parce qu'un changement dans la répartition géographique des immigrants peut influer sur leur performance économique de façon positive ou négative. Cet article se concentre sur le Canada atlantique, dont la part dans les entrées d'immigrants annuelle canadienne a toujours été faible, mais où les récentes initiatives politiques ont abouti à une plus grande attraction et rétention des immigrants. Les immigrants se trouvent de meilleurs résultats que les non-immigrants au marché du travail régional. L'importance de l'analyse régionale de la performance économique des immigrants et leur contribution dans les pays hôtes sont soulignés.

Applied Economics Letters, Feb 1, 1997

ABSTRACT Many Canadian studies continue to use Mincer's basic post-schooling earnings fun... more ABSTRACT Many Canadian studies continue to use Mincer's basic post-schooling earnings function to analyse labour market earnings of individuals. Several policy recommendations are based on these analyses. The underlying assumptions in these studies are that the Mincer's specification of earnings model is correct and that the error terms of these models are normally distributed and homoscedastic. By performing several tests on four cross-sectional Canadian data sets ranging from 1981 to 1991, the present study confirms previous suggestions in literature that the standard Mincer specification of earnings model should not be adopted without testing. The hypotheses of a correctly specified functional form, and of the normality and homoscedasticity of errors, are rejected for all the data sets used in this study. These results question the validity of past policy recommendations based on Mincer type earnings functions in Canada.

Applied Economics, May 1, 2012

From the turn of the present century until late 2008, house prices in some developed countries, i... more 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.

Canadian Journal of Economics, Aug 1, 1992

Page 1. The substitutability of foreign-born labour in Canadian-production: circa 1980 ATHER H. A... more Page 1. The substitutability of foreign-born labour in Canadian-production: circa 1980 ATHER H. AKB ARI Saint Mary's University D*ON J. DEVORETZ Simon Fraser University Abstract. The impact of immigrant workers on the ...

Canadian Studies in Population, Oct 16, 2015

This book is a collection of eighteen articles whose authors studied different aspects of social ... more This book is a collection of eighteen articles whose authors studied different aspects of social transformation taking place in Canada's rural communities. Rural Canada faces demographic challenges resulting not only from fertility decline but also from youth out-migration. Together, these two phenomena are resulting in more rapid aging of the rural than of the urban population. As a consequence, changes in social and cultural relationships are shaping a new pattern of rural life in Canada. The articles are written by 19 scholars from a variety of fields, including economics, sociology, history, geography, environmental science, political science, anthropology, and communications. Some authors are also themselves community leaders and builders. In their introductory chapter, the editors take a broad view of social transformation, describing it as a set of events and processes of social change that defines it as a political project connected to power, privilege, and challenge and is therefore more complex than an economic transition or a demographic shift. They are also aware of several definitions of "rural" in the literature, but for this collection, all regions and territories of Canada outside major urban areas are considered rural. Perhaps this refers to all three gradations of rural and small towns (RST) used by Statistics Canada (2009), i.e., weak, moderate and strong Metropolis Influence Zone (MIZ). I would have liked it better if they were more explicit in this regard. The eighteen chapters, which explore and present new insights into community, culture, and collective action taken by rural communities, are grouped into seven thematic parts, starting with a historical context beginning in 1851. Then, about 90 percent of Canadians lived in rural Canada; the 2011 census found only 18.9 percent live there today (Statistics Canada 2012). However, Sandwell reports that the number of farm households actually grew during the 100-year period ending in 1971, with a decline recorded for the first time only in 1976. 1 He also notes that in the early decades of the twentieth century, rural farmers were able to lobby for political support for rural ways of living, and farm subsidies to protect their interests. In my opinion, their population strength provided them the political strength to achieve this goal, despite faster urbanization of the population. In the modern era, globalization and widespread use of technology have provided greater exposure for rural areas. Southcott considers, for example, the increasing influence of Aboriginal peoples over the past 30 years in the political, cultural, social, and economic affairs of Canada's Territorial North as a result of greater exposure provided by globalization. Rural-urban inequalities are now viewed as a human rights issue, according to Southcott. Another impact of globalization is the greater movement of people around the world. While international migrants continue to settle largely in urban areas, the greater exposure rural areas are getting in host

The Atlantic Metropolis Centre's Working Papers Series Série de documents de recherche du Centre ... more The Atlantic Metropolis Centre's Working Papers Series Série de documents de recherche du Centre Métropolis Atlantique The views expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Atlantic Metropolis Centre or its funders. Les opinions contenues dans cet article sont celles des auteur(s) et ne sont pas nécessairement partagées par le Centre Métropolis Atlantique ou ses partnaires.

Springer eBooks, 2023

Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towa... more Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towards smaller regions and away from historic destinations such as larger urban centres. This acknowledges that the economic and social impacts of immigration have been uneven within receiving countries. This chapter examines how these measures have been designed and implemented in five advanced economies. Programs focus on attraction, settlement, and retention of new immigrants. Attraction has involved forming partnerships between different layers of government to identify immigrants who would fit smaller regions' labour market and demographic circumstances. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have designed programs to this end, but Germany and the United States still place them within national labour development policies. Refugees are a special case, and often involve governments and community-based organizations as sponsors. Settlement of new immigrants in a location has often been eased by an established network of ethnic, cultural, and social ties. Where these do not exist, as in smaller regions, governments in Canada, Germany and New Zealand have funded their creation, with mixed results. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have also started programs to help smaller regions retain immigrants. Governments have a role to play in influencing the settlement of new immigrants to combat demographic changes in smaller regions, including slow or declining 1 natural population increases and aging, to assist immigrants to become integrated within local societies, and to promote balanced economic development across all regions.

Population Space and Place, Feb 8, 2022

Using the Canadian Census of 2016 and restricting the sample to the Canadian‐born millennials, th... more Using the Canadian Census of 2016 and restricting the sample to the Canadian‐born millennials, this paper is concerned with ethnoracial disparities in adult children's coresidence with their parents. Substantial disparities are found in the prevalence of intergenerational coresidence by race and ethnic origin. Rather surprisingly, Canadian‐born millennials of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent are found the least likely to coreside with their parents than their counterparts in other ethnoracial groups. There is little gender difference in this regard. Further exploration shows that millennials of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent are much more likely than others to be geographically mobile across Canada, and this greater mobility drives the gaps. In other words, the lower intergenerational coresidence among Canadian millennials of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent also implies a lower intergenerational proximity among these groups. Future implications of the findings for local labour and housing markets, as well as the healthcare system, are discussed in light of the Confucian concept of filial piety.

Canadian Ethnic Studies, Sep 22, 2005

Atlantic Metropolis Atlantique (AMA) was established in January 2004 to promote research on issue... more Atlantic Metropolis Atlantique (AMA) was established in January 2004 to promote research on issues of immigrant integration, population migration, and multicultural diversity within small cities and rural areas. Attraction and retention of immigrants and refugees in rural areas and smaller urban centers, areas that characterize Atlantic Canada, is also a focus of research at AMA. This research aims to generate greater awareness of immigration issues in policy circles and among the general public by providing a platform to its stakeholders for discussion. AMA has a "bipolar" structure with centres in both Halifax and Moncton. It is designed to reflect the bilingual reality of Atlantic Canada. Atlantic Canada has struggled to attract and retain immigrants in a country where overwhelming numbers choose to settle in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The Atlantic challenge has gained significance in light of declining regional populations. (1) Against this overall background, the economics domain of AMA organized a two-day conference on immigration and out-migration in Halifax in mid-November, 2004. Not only was this the first major event of its kind put together by AMA, but it was the first pan-Canadian conference centred on immigration issues held in Atlantic Canada. It drew presenters and participants from across Canada and the United States; about 250 delegates from academia, the public service, NGOs, communities, and industry were registered. This article summarizes some of the major themes discussed at the conference, particularly those with a distinctly Atlantic flavour. GENERAL FRAMEWORK A plenary panel of three speakers opened the conference, providing some background information on attracting and retaining immigrants. Barry Chiswick (University of Illinois) summarized his research on economic factors and linguistic concentrations, or enclaves. His analysis applies to countries that face the challenge of lopsided regional distribution of immigrants. New immigrants tend to settle near ports of entry, near clusters of previous immigrants of similar origin, and where employment opportunities are best. This pattern results from economies in communication, information, consumption, and the labour market. So-called ethnic goods are also important in location choice. (2) Ethnic goods obey the laws of economies of scale, whereby the full cost of their production goes down as the size of the consuming immigrant (ethnic) group increases. An immigrant would be indifferent between working in two alternative areas only if the area with the high cost ethnic goods (lower concentration ratio) provided a higher nominal wage. This has several important policy implications for Atlantic Canada, given its lower immigrant concentration ratio. One is that the region should help remove barriers to labour market integration of immigrants by improving the foreign credential recognition process. Another is that immigrant recruitment should be based on skill shortages in the region, since scarcity of skills usually means higher nominal wages. A third is that established immigrants can play an important role in helping new immigrants become settled in their new homes. Many NGOs in Atlantic Canada are run, at least in part, by immigrants who have already experienced the settlement process, are already established, and are well qualified to help others. Finally, promoting cultural events for different ethnic communities could result in a more comfortable environment for newcomers. Don De Voretz (Simon Fraser University) addressed the issue of immigrant retention in terms of a brain circulation model, under which immigrants enter a niche area where they receive subsidized human capital in the form of education, language training, and skill certification. Analyzing data for Quebec, which has difficulty retaining its immigrant population, he suggests that the decision to move or stay in any niche area depends on the rewards earned from this acquired human capital in the niche area (Quebec) or in the rest of Canada. …

Canadian Public Policy

Using 2016 Census data, we compare the odds of employment (full time or self-employment) for visi... more 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-secon...

Springer eBooks, 2023

Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towa... more Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towards smaller regions and away from historic destinations such as larger urban centres. This acknowledges that the economic and social impacts of immigration have been uneven within receiving countries. This chapter examines how these measures have been designed and implemented in five advanced economies. Programs focus on attraction, settlement, and retention of new immigrants. Attraction has involved forming partnerships between different layers of government to identify immigrants who would fit smaller regions' labour market and demographic circumstances. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have designed programs to this end, but Germany and the United States still place them within national labour development policies. Refugees are a special case, and often involve governments and community-based organizations as sponsors. Settlement of new immigrants in a location has often been eased by an established network of ethnic, cultural, and social ties. Where these do not exist, as in smaller regions, governments in Canada, Germany and New Zealand have funded their creation, with mixed results. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have also started programs to help smaller regions retain immigrants. Governments have a role to play in influencing the settlement of new immigrants to combat demographic changes in smaller regions, including slow or declining 1 natural population increases and aging, to assist immigrants to become integrated within local societies, and to promote balanced economic development across all regions.

International Perspectives on Migration, 2016

Drawing from over 50 semi-structured interviews performed in three small cities (Charlottetown, M... more 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.

Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal, Sep 22, 2005

Atlantic Metropolis Atlantique (AMA) was established in January 2004 to promote research on issue... more Atlantic Metropolis Atlantique (AMA) was established in January 2004 to promote research on issues of immigrant integration, population migration, and multicultural diversity within small cities and rural areas. Attraction and retention of immigrants and refugees in rural areas and smaller urban centers, areas that characterize Atlantic Canada, is also a focus of research at AMA. This research aims to generate greater awareness of immigration issues in policy circles and among the general public by providing a platform to its stakeholders for discussion. AMA has a "bipolar" structure with centres in both Halifax and Moncton. It is designed to reflect the bilingual reality of Atlantic Canada. Atlantic Canada has struggled to attract and retain immigrants in a country where overwhelming numbers choose to settle in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The Atlantic challenge has gained significance in light of declining regional populations. (1) Against this overall background, the economics domain of AMA organized a two-day conference on immigration and out-migration in Halifax in mid-November, 2004. Not only was this the first major event of its kind put together by AMA, but it was the first pan-Canadian conference centred on immigration issues held in Atlantic Canada. It drew presenters and participants from across Canada and the United States; about 250 delegates from academia, the public service, NGOs, communities, and industry were registered. This article summarizes some of the major themes discussed at the conference, particularly those with a distinctly Atlantic flavour. GENERAL FRAMEWORK A plenary panel of three speakers opened the conference, providing some background information on attracting and retaining immigrants. Barry Chiswick (University of Illinois) summarized his research on economic factors and linguistic concentrations, or enclaves. His analysis applies to countries that face the challenge of lopsided regional distribution of immigrants. New immigrants tend to settle near ports of entry, near clusters of previous immigrants of similar origin, and where employment opportunities are best. This pattern results from economies in communication, information, consumption, and the labour market. So-called ethnic goods are also important in location choice. (2) Ethnic goods obey the laws of economies of scale, whereby the full cost of their production goes down as the size of the consuming immigrant (ethnic) group increases. An immigrant would be indifferent between working in two alternative areas only if the area with the high cost ethnic goods (lower concentration ratio) provided a higher nominal wage. This has several important policy implications for Atlantic Canada, given its lower immigrant concentration ratio. One is that the region should help remove barriers to labour market integration of immigrants by improving the foreign credential recognition process. Another is that immigrant recruitment should be based on skill shortages in the region, since scarcity of skills usually means higher nominal wages. A third is that established immigrants can play an important role in helping new immigrants become settled in their new homes. Many NGOs in Atlantic Canada are run, at least in part, by immigrants who have already experienced the settlement process, are already established, and are well qualified to help others. Finally, promoting cultural events for different ethnic communities could result in a more comfortable environment for newcomers. Don De Voretz (Simon Fraser University) addressed the issue of immigrant retention in terms of a brain circulation model, under which immigrants enter a niche area where they receive subsidized human capital in the form of education, language training, and skill certification. Analyzing data for Quebec, which has difficulty retaining its immigrant population, he suggests that the decision to move or stay in any niche area depends on the rewards earned from this acquired human capital in the niche area (Quebec) or in the rest of Canada. …

Journal of International Migration and Integration / Revue de l'integration et de la migration internationale, 2004

Project is meant to facilitate research in the area of migration that can optimally inform policy... more Project is meant to facilitate research in the area of migration that can optimally inform policy, hz 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

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2017

Different cultural factors and indicators affecting economic growth should be identified and take... more Different cultural factors and indicators affecting economic growth should be identified and taken into consideration. Using their creative talents and cultural heritage, countries can support and improve economic growth and ultimately attain the welfare and prosperity of society. Cultural indicators can measure cultural status. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the cultural index affects economic growth in Iran's provinces. This index is calculated with regard to theoretical basics of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA). In this paper, based on regional accounts of 31 provinces, first the cultural index of provinces is computed and the its situation is compared among provinces Then, the impact of the cultural indices' advantage on Iran's economic growth is estimated using a dynamic panel data model and generalized method of moments (GMM) during 2000-2016. The statistical population consists of Iran's provinces. The estimation results show that the effect of the comparative advantage of the value added of cultural variables on economic growth is positive and significant. In addition, the cultural index can increase the economic growth of the provinces if it increases human capital.

Two major conclusions of this study are as follows: 1) immigration to smaller locations in Atlant... more Two major conclusions of this study are as follows: 1) immigration to smaller locations in Atlantic Canada appears to be primarily job-oriented; 2) economic integration of immigrants who arrived in Halifax, Charlottetown and Colchester during 2001-2006 appears to be happening faster than of those who came during the previous five years.

Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towa... more Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towards smaller regions and away from historic destinations such as larger urban centres. This acknowledges that the economic and social impacts of immigration have been uneven within receiving countries. This chapter examines how these measures have been designed and implemented in five advanced economies. Programs focus on attraction, settlement, and retention of new immigrants. Attraction has involved forming partnerships between different layers of government to identify immigrants who would fit smaller regions' labour market and demographic circumstances. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have designed programs to this end, but Germany and the United States still place them within national labour development policies. Refugees are a special case, and often involve community-based organizations as sponsors. Settlement of new immigrants in a location has often been eased by an established network of ethnic, cultural and social ties. Where these do not exist, as in smaller regions, governments in Canada, Germany and New Zealand have funded their creation, with mixed results. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have also started programs to help smaller regions retain immigrants. Governments have a role to play in influencing the settlement of new immigrants to combat demographic changes in smaller regions, including slow or declining natural population increases and aging, to assist immigrants to become integrated within local societies, and to promote balanced economic development across all regions.

Canadian Public Policy-analyse De Politiques, Dec 1, 1989

Page 1. The Benefits of Immigrants to Canada: Evidence on Tax and Public Services ATHER H. AKBARI... more Page 1. The Benefits of Immigrants to Canada: Evidence on Tax and Public Services ATHER H. AKBARI* Department of Economics Saint Mary's University On examine, a l'aide de micro-donn6es du Recensement de 1981, l ...

Journal of International Migration and Integration, Mar 18, 2011

Despite recent interest in regionalization of immigration in host nations, most studies have anal... more Despite recent interest in regionalization of immigration in host nations, most studies have analyzed immigrants' economic performance by largely focusing on their overall national performance. A regional analysis is necessary because changing geographic distribution of immigrants can affect their economic performance positively or negatively. Present paper focuses on Atlantic Canada whose share in annual Canadian immigrant inflows has been traditionally low, but where recent policy initiatives have resulted in greater attraction and retention of immigrants. Immigrants are found performing better than non-immigrants in regional labour market. The importance of regional analysis of immigrants' economic performance and contribution in host nations is highlighted. Résumé Malgré l'intérêt récent sur la régionalisation de l'immigration dans les pays hôtes la plupart des études ont analysé la performance économique des immigrants en grande partie en se concentrant sur leur performance nationale. Une analyse régionale est nécessaire parce qu'un changement dans la répartition géographique des immigrants peut influer sur leur performance économique de façon positive ou négative. Cet article se concentre sur le Canada atlantique, dont la part dans les entrées d'immigrants annuelle canadienne a toujours été faible, mais où les récentes initiatives politiques ont abouti à une plus grande attraction et rétention des immigrants. Les immigrants se trouvent de meilleurs résultats que les non-immigrants au marché du travail régional. L'importance de l'analyse régionale de la performance économique des immigrants et leur contribution dans les pays hôtes sont soulignés.

Applied Economics Letters, Feb 1, 1997

ABSTRACT Many Canadian studies continue to use Mincer's basic post-schooling earnings fun... more ABSTRACT Many Canadian studies continue to use Mincer's basic post-schooling earnings function to analyse labour market earnings of individuals. Several policy recommendations are based on these analyses. The underlying assumptions in these studies are that the Mincer's specification of earnings model is correct and that the error terms of these models are normally distributed and homoscedastic. By performing several tests on four cross-sectional Canadian data sets ranging from 1981 to 1991, the present study confirms previous suggestions in literature that the standard Mincer specification of earnings model should not be adopted without testing. The hypotheses of a correctly specified functional form, and of the normality and homoscedasticity of errors, are rejected for all the data sets used in this study. These results question the validity of past policy recommendations based on Mincer type earnings functions in Canada.

Applied Economics, May 1, 2012

From the turn of the present century until late 2008, house prices in some developed countries, i... more 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.

Canadian Journal of Economics, Aug 1, 1992

Page 1. The substitutability of foreign-born labour in Canadian-production: circa 1980 ATHER H. A... more Page 1. The substitutability of foreign-born labour in Canadian-production: circa 1980 ATHER H. AKB ARI Saint Mary's University D*ON J. DEVORETZ Simon Fraser University Abstract. The impact of immigrant workers on the ...

Canadian Studies in Population, Oct 16, 2015

This book is a collection of eighteen articles whose authors studied different aspects of social ... more This book is a collection of eighteen articles whose authors studied different aspects of social transformation taking place in Canada's rural communities. Rural Canada faces demographic challenges resulting not only from fertility decline but also from youth out-migration. Together, these two phenomena are resulting in more rapid aging of the rural than of the urban population. As a consequence, changes in social and cultural relationships are shaping a new pattern of rural life in Canada. The articles are written by 19 scholars from a variety of fields, including economics, sociology, history, geography, environmental science, political science, anthropology, and communications. Some authors are also themselves community leaders and builders. In their introductory chapter, the editors take a broad view of social transformation, describing it as a set of events and processes of social change that defines it as a political project connected to power, privilege, and challenge and is therefore more complex than an economic transition or a demographic shift. They are also aware of several definitions of "rural" in the literature, but for this collection, all regions and territories of Canada outside major urban areas are considered rural. Perhaps this refers to all three gradations of rural and small towns (RST) used by Statistics Canada (2009), i.e., weak, moderate and strong Metropolis Influence Zone (MIZ). I would have liked it better if they were more explicit in this regard. The eighteen chapters, which explore and present new insights into community, culture, and collective action taken by rural communities, are grouped into seven thematic parts, starting with a historical context beginning in 1851. Then, about 90 percent of Canadians lived in rural Canada; the 2011 census found only 18.9 percent live there today (Statistics Canada 2012). However, Sandwell reports that the number of farm households actually grew during the 100-year period ending in 1971, with a decline recorded for the first time only in 1976. 1 He also notes that in the early decades of the twentieth century, rural farmers were able to lobby for political support for rural ways of living, and farm subsidies to protect their interests. In my opinion, their population strength provided them the political strength to achieve this goal, despite faster urbanization of the population. In the modern era, globalization and widespread use of technology have provided greater exposure for rural areas. Southcott considers, for example, the increasing influence of Aboriginal peoples over the past 30 years in the political, cultural, social, and economic affairs of Canada's Territorial North as a result of greater exposure provided by globalization. Rural-urban inequalities are now viewed as a human rights issue, according to Southcott. Another impact of globalization is the greater movement of people around the world. While international migrants continue to settle largely in urban areas, the greater exposure rural areas are getting in host

The Atlantic Metropolis Centre's Working Papers Series Série de documents de recherche du Centre ... more The Atlantic Metropolis Centre's Working Papers Series Série de documents de recherche du Centre Métropolis Atlantique The views expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Atlantic Metropolis Centre or its funders. Les opinions contenues dans cet article sont celles des auteur(s) et ne sont pas nécessairement partagées par le Centre Métropolis Atlantique ou ses partnaires.

Springer eBooks, 2023

Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towa... more Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towards smaller regions and away from historic destinations such as larger urban centres. This acknowledges that the economic and social impacts of immigration have been uneven within receiving countries. This chapter examines how these measures have been designed and implemented in five advanced economies. Programs focus on attraction, settlement, and retention of new immigrants. Attraction has involved forming partnerships between different layers of government to identify immigrants who would fit smaller regions' labour market and demographic circumstances. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have designed programs to this end, but Germany and the United States still place them within national labour development policies. Refugees are a special case, and often involve governments and community-based organizations as sponsors. Settlement of new immigrants in a location has often been eased by an established network of ethnic, cultural, and social ties. Where these do not exist, as in smaller regions, governments in Canada, Germany and New Zealand have funded their creation, with mixed results. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have also started programs to help smaller regions retain immigrants. Governments have a role to play in influencing the settlement of new immigrants to combat demographic changes in smaller regions, including slow or declining 1 natural population increases and aging, to assist immigrants to become integrated within local societies, and to promote balanced economic development across all regions.

Population Space and Place, Feb 8, 2022

Using the Canadian Census of 2016 and restricting the sample to the Canadian‐born millennials, th... more Using the Canadian Census of 2016 and restricting the sample to the Canadian‐born millennials, this paper is concerned with ethnoracial disparities in adult children's coresidence with their parents. Substantial disparities are found in the prevalence of intergenerational coresidence by race and ethnic origin. Rather surprisingly, Canadian‐born millennials of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent are found the least likely to coreside with their parents than their counterparts in other ethnoracial groups. There is little gender difference in this regard. Further exploration shows that millennials of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent are much more likely than others to be geographically mobile across Canada, and this greater mobility drives the gaps. In other words, the lower intergenerational coresidence among Canadian millennials of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent also implies a lower intergenerational proximity among these groups. Future implications of the findings for local labour and housing markets, as well as the healthcare system, are discussed in light of the Confucian concept of filial piety.

Canadian Ethnic Studies, Sep 22, 2005

Atlantic Metropolis Atlantique (AMA) was established in January 2004 to promote research on issue... more Atlantic Metropolis Atlantique (AMA) was established in January 2004 to promote research on issues of immigrant integration, population migration, and multicultural diversity within small cities and rural areas. Attraction and retention of immigrants and refugees in rural areas and smaller urban centers, areas that characterize Atlantic Canada, is also a focus of research at AMA. This research aims to generate greater awareness of immigration issues in policy circles and among the general public by providing a platform to its stakeholders for discussion. AMA has a "bipolar" structure with centres in both Halifax and Moncton. It is designed to reflect the bilingual reality of Atlantic Canada. Atlantic Canada has struggled to attract and retain immigrants in a country where overwhelming numbers choose to settle in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The Atlantic challenge has gained significance in light of declining regional populations. (1) Against this overall background, the economics domain of AMA organized a two-day conference on immigration and out-migration in Halifax in mid-November, 2004. Not only was this the first major event of its kind put together by AMA, but it was the first pan-Canadian conference centred on immigration issues held in Atlantic Canada. It drew presenters and participants from across Canada and the United States; about 250 delegates from academia, the public service, NGOs, communities, and industry were registered. This article summarizes some of the major themes discussed at the conference, particularly those with a distinctly Atlantic flavour. GENERAL FRAMEWORK A plenary panel of three speakers opened the conference, providing some background information on attracting and retaining immigrants. Barry Chiswick (University of Illinois) summarized his research on economic factors and linguistic concentrations, or enclaves. His analysis applies to countries that face the challenge of lopsided regional distribution of immigrants. New immigrants tend to settle near ports of entry, near clusters of previous immigrants of similar origin, and where employment opportunities are best. This pattern results from economies in communication, information, consumption, and the labour market. So-called ethnic goods are also important in location choice. (2) Ethnic goods obey the laws of economies of scale, whereby the full cost of their production goes down as the size of the consuming immigrant (ethnic) group increases. An immigrant would be indifferent between working in two alternative areas only if the area with the high cost ethnic goods (lower concentration ratio) provided a higher nominal wage. This has several important policy implications for Atlantic Canada, given its lower immigrant concentration ratio. One is that the region should help remove barriers to labour market integration of immigrants by improving the foreign credential recognition process. Another is that immigrant recruitment should be based on skill shortages in the region, since scarcity of skills usually means higher nominal wages. A third is that established immigrants can play an important role in helping new immigrants become settled in their new homes. Many NGOs in Atlantic Canada are run, at least in part, by immigrants who have already experienced the settlement process, are already established, and are well qualified to help others. Finally, promoting cultural events for different ethnic communities could result in a more comfortable environment for newcomers. Don De Voretz (Simon Fraser University) addressed the issue of immigrant retention in terms of a brain circulation model, under which immigrants enter a niche area where they receive subsidized human capital in the form of education, language training, and skill certification. Analyzing data for Quebec, which has difficulty retaining its immigrant population, he suggests that the decision to move or stay in any niche area depends on the rewards earned from this acquired human capital in the niche area (Quebec) or in the rest of Canada. …

Canadian Public Policy

Using 2016 Census data, we compare the odds of employment (full time or self-employment) for visi... more 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-secon...

Springer eBooks, 2023

Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towa... more Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towards smaller regions and away from historic destinations such as larger urban centres. This acknowledges that the economic and social impacts of immigration have been uneven within receiving countries. This chapter examines how these measures have been designed and implemented in five advanced economies. Programs focus on attraction, settlement, and retention of new immigrants. Attraction has involved forming partnerships between different layers of government to identify immigrants who would fit smaller regions' labour market and demographic circumstances. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have designed programs to this end, but Germany and the United States still place them within national labour development policies. Refugees are a special case, and often involve governments and community-based organizations as sponsors. Settlement of new immigrants in a location has often been eased by an established network of ethnic, cultural, and social ties. Where these do not exist, as in smaller regions, governments in Canada, Germany and New Zealand have funded their creation, with mixed results. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have also started programs to help smaller regions retain immigrants. Governments have a role to play in influencing the settlement of new immigrants to combat demographic changes in smaller regions, including slow or declining 1 natural population increases and aging, to assist immigrants to become integrated within local societies, and to promote balanced economic development across all regions.

International Perspectives on Migration, 2016

Drawing from over 50 semi-structured interviews performed in three small cities (Charlottetown, M... more 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.

Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal, Sep 22, 2005

Atlantic Metropolis Atlantique (AMA) was established in January 2004 to promote research on issue... more Atlantic Metropolis Atlantique (AMA) was established in January 2004 to promote research on issues of immigrant integration, population migration, and multicultural diversity within small cities and rural areas. Attraction and retention of immigrants and refugees in rural areas and smaller urban centers, areas that characterize Atlantic Canada, is also a focus of research at AMA. This research aims to generate greater awareness of immigration issues in policy circles and among the general public by providing a platform to its stakeholders for discussion. AMA has a "bipolar" structure with centres in both Halifax and Moncton. It is designed to reflect the bilingual reality of Atlantic Canada. Atlantic Canada has struggled to attract and retain immigrants in a country where overwhelming numbers choose to settle in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The Atlantic challenge has gained significance in light of declining regional populations. (1) Against this overall background, the economics domain of AMA organized a two-day conference on immigration and out-migration in Halifax in mid-November, 2004. Not only was this the first major event of its kind put together by AMA, but it was the first pan-Canadian conference centred on immigration issues held in Atlantic Canada. It drew presenters and participants from across Canada and the United States; about 250 delegates from academia, the public service, NGOs, communities, and industry were registered. This article summarizes some of the major themes discussed at the conference, particularly those with a distinctly Atlantic flavour. GENERAL FRAMEWORK A plenary panel of three speakers opened the conference, providing some background information on attracting and retaining immigrants. Barry Chiswick (University of Illinois) summarized his research on economic factors and linguistic concentrations, or enclaves. His analysis applies to countries that face the challenge of lopsided regional distribution of immigrants. New immigrants tend to settle near ports of entry, near clusters of previous immigrants of similar origin, and where employment opportunities are best. This pattern results from economies in communication, information, consumption, and the labour market. So-called ethnic goods are also important in location choice. (2) Ethnic goods obey the laws of economies of scale, whereby the full cost of their production goes down as the size of the consuming immigrant (ethnic) group increases. An immigrant would be indifferent between working in two alternative areas only if the area with the high cost ethnic goods (lower concentration ratio) provided a higher nominal wage. This has several important policy implications for Atlantic Canada, given its lower immigrant concentration ratio. One is that the region should help remove barriers to labour market integration of immigrants by improving the foreign credential recognition process. Another is that immigrant recruitment should be based on skill shortages in the region, since scarcity of skills usually means higher nominal wages. A third is that established immigrants can play an important role in helping new immigrants become settled in their new homes. Many NGOs in Atlantic Canada are run, at least in part, by immigrants who have already experienced the settlement process, are already established, and are well qualified to help others. Finally, promoting cultural events for different ethnic communities could result in a more comfortable environment for newcomers. Don De Voretz (Simon Fraser University) addressed the issue of immigrant retention in terms of a brain circulation model, under which immigrants enter a niche area where they receive subsidized human capital in the form of education, language training, and skill certification. Analyzing data for Quebec, which has difficulty retaining its immigrant population, he suggests that the decision to move or stay in any niche area depends on the rewards earned from this acquired human capital in the niche area (Quebec) or in the rest of Canada. …

Journal of International Migration and Integration / Revue de l'integration et de la migration internationale, 2004

Project is meant to facilitate research in the area of migration that can optimally inform policy... more Project is meant to facilitate research in the area of migration that can optimally inform policy, hz 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

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2017

Different cultural factors and indicators affecting economic growth should be identified and take... more Different cultural factors and indicators affecting economic growth should be identified and taken into consideration. Using their creative talents and cultural heritage, countries can support and improve economic growth and ultimately attain the welfare and prosperity of society. Cultural indicators can measure cultural status. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the cultural index affects economic growth in Iran's provinces. This index is calculated with regard to theoretical basics of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA). In this paper, based on regional accounts of 31 provinces, first the cultural index of provinces is computed and the its situation is compared among provinces Then, the impact of the cultural indices' advantage on Iran's economic growth is estimated using a dynamic panel data model and generalized method of moments (GMM) during 2000-2016. The statistical population consists of Iran's provinces. The estimation results show that the effect of the comparative advantage of the value added of cultural variables on economic growth is positive and significant. In addition, the cultural index can increase the economic growth of the provinces if it increases human capital.

Two major conclusions of this study are as follows: 1) immigration to smaller locations in Atlant... more Two major conclusions of this study are as follows: 1) immigration to smaller locations in Atlantic Canada appears to be primarily job-oriented; 2) economic integration of immigrants who arrived in Halifax, Charlottetown and Colchester during 2001-2006 appears to be happening faster than of those who came during the previous five years.

Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towa... more Major immigrant-receiving nations have introduced policies to direct settlement of newcomers towards smaller regions and away from historic destinations such as larger urban centres. This acknowledges that the economic and social impacts of immigration have been uneven within receiving countries. This chapter examines how these measures have been designed and implemented in five advanced economies. Programs focus on attraction, settlement, and retention of new immigrants. Attraction has involved forming partnerships between different layers of government to identify immigrants who would fit smaller regions' labour market and demographic circumstances. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have designed programs to this end, but Germany and the United States still place them within national labour development policies. Refugees are a special case, and often involve community-based organizations as sponsors. Settlement of new immigrants in a location has often been eased by an established network of ethnic, cultural and social ties. Where these do not exist, as in smaller regions, governments in Canada, Germany and New Zealand have funded their creation, with mixed results. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have also started programs to help smaller regions retain immigrants. Governments have a role to play in influencing the settlement of new immigrants to combat demographic changes in smaller regions, including slow or declining natural population increases and aging, to assist immigrants to become integrated within local societies, and to promote balanced economic development across all regions.