This thesis consists of three chapters investigating the impact of immigrant language skills on Canadian wages. The first chapter, “Linguistic diversity among Canadian immigrants: 1981-2006”, describes the changes in linguistic diversity among Canadian immigrants, as measured by a preferred linguistic distance measure, the Levenshtein Distance (LD) Index, and documents socio-demographic characteristics of recent immigrants as well as their labour market performance based on their language capital at the time of entry. The LD is an approximation of immigrants’ language skills in the Canadian official languages and represents the “distance” of an immigrant’s reported language to the Canadian official languages. Using the 20% micro-data files of the Canadian Censuses between 1981 and 2006, I assign each immigrant an index number based on two language measures: mother tongue and home language. French and English are defined as the Canadian official languages in Quebec and outside of Quebec, respectively. The main findings suggest that although immigrants’ mother tongues became more “distant” to the Canadian official languages in both regions over time, the language skill of an average immigrant based on home language remained almost the same in Quebec, in particular, between 1981 and 1996. In terms of immigrants’ socio-demographic characteristics and their labour market performance, general patterns were similar across the two regions, although there were significant differences by language groups. In particular, the change in immigrants’ wages by language groups is suggestive of the role of language skills in determining wages. The second chapter, “Immigrant versus native men? Substitutability and the role of linguistic diversity in Canada”, estimates the degree of substitutability between immigrant and native men by incorporating immigrants’ language skills into the analysis and calculates the potential wage effects of immigration on Canadian wages. Using the 20% micro-data files of the Canadian Censuses between 1981 and 2006 and imposing a nested-CES production function on the Canadian economy, I estimate immigrant-native substitutability based on immigrants’ language skills in addition to education levels and years of labour market experience. I use the LD Index to represent immigrants’ language skills by the distance of the mother tongue and home language of an immigrant to English outside of Quebec and to French in Quebec. I define three language groups for immigrants as the high language-skilled, the medium language-skilled, and the low language-skilled. The key findings are as follows. First, home language-based estimates suggest imperfect substitutability in Canada outside of Quebec in some cases. Second, by language skill groups, the low language-skilled immigrants are more likely to be imperfect substitutes for the Canadian-born. Third, the findings for Quebec are substantially different from those for Canada outside of Quebec. My simulations suggest that the long-run effect of immigration on immigrants’ wages was negative between 1981 and 2006 while the long-run effect of immigration on the wages of the Canadian-born was small but positive over the same period. The third chapter, “Gender, linguistic diversity, and labour market substitutability”, uses the same methodology and data sources as in the second chapter to incorporate female workers into the analysis of immigrant-native substitutability. This study estimates the elasticity of substitution between immigrant language groups and natives for female workers and the pooled sample of male and female workers. The findings suggest that the degree of substitutability between female immigrants and female natives is similar to the degree of substitutability between male immigrants and male natives. The main results do not change for the pooled sample. Due to potential differences between language accumulation processes between female and male immigrants, the third chapter also estimates female-male immigrants substitutability based on language skills, education levels, and years of labour market experience. The findings suggest that female and male immigrants are imperfect substitutes outside of Quebec regardless of language measures.

This paper presents a translog model designed to estimate the elasticity of substitution between capital, non-production workers, and production workers using U.S. manufacturing data for the period 1988 to 1997. The elasticity of substitution estimates derived from the translog model suggest that production workers and capital are substitutes, as well as non-production and production workers. Although the estimates do not provide conclusive evidence regarding the degree of substitutability between non-production workers and capital, they do indicate that the degree of substitutability between production workers and capital is greater than it is between non-production workers and capital. / Master of Arts

Este estudo tem a finalidade de estimar uma função de custo transcendental logarítmica para a atividade de produção de soja, e através dela determinar o tamanho ótimo da atividade de produção de soja, a fim de inferir sobre a existência, ou não, de economias de escala no setor. Adicionalmente, objetiva-se a caracterização sócio-econômica dos produtores de soja pesquisados e a análise das possibilidades de substituição dos recursos no processo produtivo da atividade. O referencial teórico do estudo é a teoria da dualidade da função custo e da função de produção. Os dados utilizados para a análise são de corte transversal, obtidos a partir de uma pesquisa de campo, realizada de agosto a dezembro de 2005, em uma amostra de 218 (duzentos e dezoito) produtores de soja nos cinco principais estados produtores do país: Mato Grosso, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Goiás e Mato Grosso do Sul. A amostra representa as realidades regionais, com o predomínio de produtores com pequenas propriedades nos estados da região Sul do país e produtores com propriedades maiores no Centro-Oeste brasileiro. As elasticidades-preço cruzadas mostraram que há complementaridade entre os fatores mão-de-obra e capital. As elasticidades de substituição parcial de Allen indicaram substituição entre a maior parte dos fatores de produção. Houve uma forte relação de complementaridade entre os fatores capital e mão-de-obra e de substituição entre os fatores químicos e mão-de-obra. Na classificação de Morishima, capital e mão-de-obra são complementares quando o preço de capital varia, e substitutos quando varia o preço do fator mão-de-obra. As estimativas de economias de escala obtidas apontam uma escala ótima de produção de aproximadamente 11.880 toneladas de soja em grão, que pode ser obtida em propriedades com aproximadamente 4.000 hectares de área de produção de soja. Os resultados empíricos obtidos neste trabalho sugerem que as economias de escala estejam determinando uma nova configuração para o setor de produção de soja no Brasil. No entanto, algumas características da pequena produção podem minimizar a importância dessas economias e estão sendo determinantes para a manutenção da produção em pequena escala na região Sul do país, no curto prazo. / The main objective of this paper is to estimate a translog cost function for the soybean production activity in Brazil, to infer about the existence of scale economies in the sector. We use cross-section data obtained through a field research undertake during the period of September to December 2004, in a sample of 218 soybean-producing units in the main producer states in Brazil. The paper also addresses a socio-economic characterization of the surveyed units and analyses substitution possibilities between inputs. The sample reflects regional detail of production structure, with smaller producers concentrated in Southern Brazil and larger producers concentrate in the Center-West region. The elasticities of derived demand showed complementary relation between labor and capital. The Allen partial elasticities of substitution show substitution between most of the production inputs. Capital and labor are complements and chemical and labor are substitutes. In terms of Morishima elasticity of substitution capital and labor are complements when capital price varies and they are substitutes when labor price varies. The economies of scale estimates point to an optimal scale of production around 12 thousand ton that could be produced in an area with approximately 4,000 hectares. The results suggest that the presence of scale economies could be determining a new production structure for the sector in Brazil. And finally, the evidence found also suggests that some aspects of the small production system work to reduce the importance of these scale economies, and are determinant to keep the small-scale operations in the traditional regions in the short run.

With the significant rise in immigration to the U.S. over the last few decades, fully understanding the economic impact of immigration is paramount for policy makers. As such, this dissertation consists of three empirical essays contributing to the literature on the impact of immigration. In my first essay, I re-examine the impact of immigration on housing rents and completely controlling for endogenous location choices of immigrants. I model rents as a function of both contemporaneous and initial economic and housing market conditions. I show that existing estimates of the impact of immigration on rents are biased and the source of the bias is the instrumental variable strategy common in much of the immigration literature. In my second essay, I present a new approach to estimating the effect of immigration on native wages. Noting the imperfect substitutability of immigrants and natives within education groups, I posit an empirical framework where labor markets are stratified by occupations. Using occupation-specific skill to define homogeneous skill groups, I estimate the partial equilibrium (within skill group) effect of immigration. The results suggest that when one defines labor market cohorts that directly compete in the labor market, the effect of immigration on native wages is roughly twice as large as previous estimates in the literature. In my third essay, I return to the housing market and examine the effects of immigration within metropolitan areas. Specifically, I investigate the relationship between immigrant inflows, native outflows, and rents. Taking advantage of the unique settlement patterns of immigrants, I show that the effect of immigration on rents is lower in both high-immigrant neighborhoods and portions of the rent distribution where immigrants cluster. Contrary to the existing belief in the literature, the results suggest that the preferences of natives, not immigrants, bid up rents in response to an immigrant inflow.

Este estudo tem a finalidade de estimar uma função de custo transcendental logarítmica para a atividade de produção de soja, e através dela determinar o tamanho ótimo da atividade de produção de soja, a fim de inferir sobre a existência, ou não, de economias de escala no setor. Adicionalmente, objetiva-se a caracterização sócio-econômica dos produtores de soja pesquisados e a análise das possibilidades de substituição dos recursos no processo produtivo da atividade. O referencial teórico do estudo é a teoria da dualidade da função custo e da função de produção. Os dados utilizados para a análise são de corte transversal, obtidos a partir de uma pesquisa de campo, realizada de agosto a dezembro de 2005, em uma amostra de 218 (duzentos e dezoito) produtores de soja nos cinco principais estados produtores do país: Mato Grosso, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Goiás e Mato Grosso do Sul. A amostra representa as realidades regionais, com o predomínio de produtores com pequenas propriedades nos estados da região Sul do país e produtores com propriedades maiores no Centro-Oeste brasileiro. As elasticidades-preço cruzadas mostraram que há complementaridade entre os fatores mão-de-obra e capital. As elasticidades de substituição parcial de Allen indicaram substituição entre a maior parte dos fatores de produção. Houve uma forte relação de complementaridade entre os fatores capital e mão-de-obra e de substituição entre os fatores químicos e mão-de-obra. Na classificação de Morishima, capital e mão-de-obra são complementares quando o preço de capital varia, e substitutos quando varia o preço do fator mão-de-obra. As estimativas de economias de escala obtidas apontam uma escala ótima de produção de aproximadamente 11.880 toneladas de soja em grão, que pode ser obtida em propriedades com aproximadamente 4.000 hectares de área de produção de soja. Os resultados empíricos obtidos neste trabalho sugerem que as economias de escala estejam determinando uma nova configuração para o setor de produção de soja no Brasil. No entanto, algumas características da pequena produção podem minimizar a importância dessas economias e estão sendo determinantes para a manutenção da produção em pequena escala na região Sul do país, no curto prazo. / The main objective of this paper is to estimate a translog cost function for the soybean production activity in Brazil, to infer about the existence of scale economies in the sector. We use cross-section data obtained through a field research undertake during the period of September to December 2004, in a sample of 218 soybean-producing units in the main producer states in Brazil. The paper also addresses a socio-economic characterization of the surveyed units and analyses substitution possibilities between inputs. The sample reflects regional detail of production structure, with smaller producers concentrated in Southern Brazil and larger producers concentrate in the Center-West region. The elasticities of derived demand showed complementary relation between labor and capital. The Allen partial elasticities of substitution show substitution between most of the production inputs. Capital and labor are complements and chemical and labor are substitutes. In terms of Morishima elasticity of substitution capital and labor are complements when capital price varies and they are substitutes when labor price varies. The economies of scale estimates point to an optimal scale of production around 12 thousand ton that could be produced in an area with approximately 4,000 hectares. The results suggest that the presence of scale economies could be determining a new production structure for the sector in Brazil. And finally, the evidence found also suggests that some aspects of the small production system work to reduce the importance of these scale economies, and are determinant to keep the small-scale operations in the traditional regions in the short run.

The first study investigates the factors that impact the duration of U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable imports. We employ both survival analysis (Kaplan Meier estimates and Cox proportional hazards model) as well as count data models. Our results indicate that SPS treatment requirements positively impact the duration of trade while new market access has the opposite effect. Other factors typically included in trade duration models (such as: GDP, transportation costs, tariff rates, etc.) were also investigated. We also employ a probit model to understand the factors impacting the probability that a country selects into exporting fresh fruits and vegetables to the United States. The second study estimates the goods-time elasticity of substitution for Food Stamp/SNAP participants versus non participants. We find that the elasticity of substitution for SNAP participants is not statistically different from zero. This indicates that SNAP participants have Leontief production function in household food production, implying that increasing the amount of SNAP benefits paid to participants will not lead to more food production if the time households dedicate to food preparation remains unchanged. This finding extends the analysis done by Baral, Davis and You (2011) and offers insights for policies related to the SNAP program. / Master of Science

O setor brasileiro de celulose é um importante pilar da economia nacional. Só em 2010 a exportação de celulose trouxe para o País US$ 4,7 bilhões. Dada a sua importância, este setor já foi alvo de vários estudos de competitividade. No entanto, a mudança no cenário concorrencial global, marcada pela entrada de novos agentes, requer uma avaliação da posição competitiva do Brasil frente aos concorrentes emergentes. Neste contexto, este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar os novos players, descrever a dinâmica concorrencial nos principais mercados, propor ferramentas adequadas para avaliar os resultados dos países exportadores de celulose de fibra curta, e explicar as razões de liderança entre os países exportadores. A fim de mensurar os resultados dos países fornecedores, foi empregada uma função de subcusto translog restrita para obtenção da elasticidade de substituição entre as polpas de fibra curta dos principais países exportadores. Para essa análise foram considerados, separadamente, os mercados americano e chinês. Os resultados obtidos foram analisados levando-se em conta aspectos técnicos da polpas de fibra curta, com foco na morfologia das fibras, e também o histórico de formação dos setores de celulose no Brasil, na Indonésia (fornecedor emergente, principal fornecedor de celulose de fibra curta para a China) e no Canadá (fornecedor tradicional de celulose, principal concorrente do Brasil nos Estados Unidos). Foram também avaliadas as barreiras de mercado à polpa indonésia a partir do testemunho de funcionários e dirigentes de fábricas de papel na América do Norte, Europa e Ásia. As observações feitas sobre a organização setorial e tecnológica dos concorrentes foram comparadas aos modelos correntes de catch up tecnológico a fim de se identificar comportamentos que contribuam para a extensão da teoria nesta área. Os resultados do trabalho indicam que a competitividade brasileira no setor de celulose se apoia na produtividade florestal, resultado da acumulação de competências tecnológicas relacionadas ao eucalipto. Isso garante a competitividade brasileira frente aos concorrentes tradicionais. Frente à polpa indonésia, que vem acumulando competências tecnológicas relacionadas à acácia, a polpa brasileira é competitiva hoje. A manutenção da competitividade da polpa brasileira frente à indonésia no futuro dependerá da intensidade de investimentos em inovação feitos por ambos os países. / Pulp industry is a mainstay of Brazilian economy. In 2010, Brazilian pulp exports totaled US$ 4.7 billion. Given its importance, this industry has been the focus of several studies on competitiveness. However, the change in the competitive global scenario, marked by the entry of new players, requires an assessment of Brazil\'s competitive position towards emerging competitors. In this context, this work aimed to identify new players, to describe the dynamics of competition in key markets, to propose appropriate tools to assess the performance of hardwood pulp exporting countries, and explain the reasons for leadership among the exporting countries. In order to measure the supplier countries results, a restricted translog subcost function was applied to obtain the elasticity of substitution between hardwood pulp from the main exporters. This analysis was performed for both the U.S. and Chinese markets. Results were evaluated considering technical features of hardwood pulp, especially fiber morphology, and also a historic appraisal of pulp industry establishment in Brazil, Indonesia (emerging supplier, main hardwood pulp supplier to China) and in Canada (traditional pulp supplier, Brazil\'s main competitor in the U.S.). Market barriers to the entry of Indonesian pulp were also assessed based on the personal testimony of employees and executives of paper mills in North America, Europe and Asia. Observations on the competitors industry and technology setup were compared to current models of technological catch up in order to identify behaviors or patterns that contribute to the extension of the theory in this area. The results of this study indicate that the competitiveness of the Brazilian pulp industry is based on forest productivity, which result from the accumulation of technological capabilities related to eucalyptus. This ensures Brazilian competitiveness against traditional competitors. Compared to the Indonesian pulp industry, which has been accumulating technological capabilities related to acacia, the Brazilian pulp is currently competitive. Maintaining the competitiveness of Brazilian pulp against the Indonesian in the future will depend on the intensity of innovation investments made by both countries.

<p>Diss. Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1989</p> / digitalisering@umu

O setor brasileiro de celulose é um importante pilar da economia nacional. Só em 2010 a exportação de celulose trouxe para o País US$ 4,7 bilhões. Dada a sua importância, este setor já foi alvo de vários estudos de competitividade. No entanto, a mudança no cenário concorrencial global, marcada pela entrada de novos agentes, requer uma avaliação da posição competitiva do Brasil frente aos concorrentes emergentes. Neste contexto, este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar os novos players, descrever a dinâmica concorrencial nos principais mercados, propor ferramentas adequadas para avaliar os resultados dos países exportadores de celulose de fibra curta, e explicar as razões de liderança entre os países exportadores. A fim de mensurar os resultados dos países fornecedores, foi empregada uma função de subcusto translog restrita para obtenção da elasticidade de substituição entre as polpas de fibra curta dos principais países exportadores. Para essa análise foram considerados, separadamente, os mercados americano e chinês. Os resultados obtidos foram analisados levando-se em conta aspectos técnicos da polpas de fibra curta, com foco na morfologia das fibras, e também o histórico de formação dos setores de celulose no Brasil, na Indonésia (fornecedor emergente, principal fornecedor de celulose de fibra curta para a China) e no Canadá (fornecedor tradicional de celulose, principal concorrente do Brasil nos Estados Unidos). Foram também avaliadas as barreiras de mercado à polpa indonésia a partir do testemunho de funcionários e dirigentes de fábricas de papel na América do Norte, Europa e Ásia. As observações feitas sobre a organização setorial e tecnológica dos concorrentes foram comparadas aos modelos correntes de catch up tecnológico a fim de se identificar comportamentos que contribuam para a extensão da teoria nesta área. Os resultados do trabalho indicam que a competitividade brasileira no setor de celulose se apoia na produtividade florestal, resultado da acumulação de competências tecnológicas relacionadas ao eucalipto. Isso garante a competitividade brasileira frente aos concorrentes tradicionais. Frente à polpa indonésia, que vem acumulando competências tecnológicas relacionadas à acácia, a polpa brasileira é competitiva hoje. A manutenção da competitividade da polpa brasileira frente à indonésia no futuro dependerá da intensidade de investimentos em inovação feitos por ambos os países. / Pulp industry is a mainstay of Brazilian economy. In 2010, Brazilian pulp exports totaled US$ 4.7 billion. Given its importance, this industry has been the focus of several studies on competitiveness. However, the change in the competitive global scenario, marked by the entry of new players, requires an assessment of Brazil\'s competitive position towards emerging competitors. In this context, this work aimed to identify new players, to describe the dynamics of competition in key markets, to propose appropriate tools to assess the performance of hardwood pulp exporting countries, and explain the reasons for leadership among the exporting countries. In order to measure the supplier countries results, a restricted translog subcost function was applied to obtain the elasticity of substitution between hardwood pulp from the main exporters. This analysis was performed for both the U.S. and Chinese markets. Results were evaluated considering technical features of hardwood pulp, especially fiber morphology, and also a historic appraisal of pulp industry establishment in Brazil, Indonesia (emerging supplier, main hardwood pulp supplier to China) and in Canada (traditional pulp supplier, Brazil\'s main competitor in the U.S.). Market barriers to the entry of Indonesian pulp were also assessed based on the personal testimony of employees and executives of paper mills in North America, Europe and Asia. Observations on the competitors industry and technology setup were compared to current models of technological catch up in order to identify behaviors or patterns that contribute to the extension of the theory in this area. The results of this study indicate that the competitiveness of the Brazilian pulp industry is based on forest productivity, which result from the accumulation of technological capabilities related to eucalyptus. This ensures Brazilian competitiveness against traditional competitors. Compared to the Indonesian pulp industry, which has been accumulating technological capabilities related to acacia, the Brazilian pulp is currently competitive. Maintaining the competitiveness of Brazilian pulp against the Indonesian in the future will depend on the intensity of innovation investments made by both countries.

There is now increasing evidence that for the U.S. economy, the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor, “sigma”, is rising over time. To account for this, we propose a microfounded model, where the evolution of “sigma”, and, hence, the shape of the aggregate production function occur endogenously. We develop a Schumpeterian growth model in which firms can undertake R&D activities that stochastically lead to the discovery of production technologies characterized by a higher elasticity of substitution between capital and labor. Improved possibilities for factor substitution mitigate the diminishment of the marginal product of capital and spur capital accumulation. Due to successful innovations, the steady state of the economy entails higher levels of the capital stock and the output good. Moreover, our numerical simulations show that the timing of innovations is important: two economies with the same steady-state elasticity of substitution between capital and labor can differ in terms of their steady-state levels of the capital stock and the output good.