A theoretical model is developed explaining participation
in the labour force in terms of the utility obtained from working, the likelihood of obtaining a job, and the costs associated with getting a job. Both discouraged and added worker behaviour are explained in terms of the model and the much greater likelihood of finding evidence of the former is noted.
Regression analysis is then applied to 1961 census tract data for the major cities of Canada in order to discover
the determinants of labour force participation rates and especially the influence of unemployment, on these rates. Separate regressions are run for high, middle, and low income
tracts. Regressions are also separated by sex. For males, it is found that unemployment, wage levels, age, education, and marriage are important in determining participation
rates. The influence of these variables differs
significantly among the income groups. A strong discouraged
worker effect is found. For women, similar results
are found, but children, housing conditions, ethnic variables and the unemployment and earning rates of males also influence their labour force behaviour. Some slight evidence for added worker behaviour was found among the higher income groups.
Similar regressions were then run using 1951 census data. Although there was evidence that the influence of some of the socio-demographic variables had changed over time, discouraged worker behaviour still predominated over added worker behaviour for all groups with the exception of higher income women.
The results of this thesis were found to conform with the results obtained in earlier studies in the U.S. and Canada. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/34739 |
| Date | January 1970 |
| Creators | Kunin, Roslyn |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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