CT 121 Last Lecture: --Post-Fordism, flexible workplace, etc --theory of the “knowledge economy”

CT 121 Today’s Lecture: The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality Myth or Reality

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality Sherry Cooper --chief economist BMO Financial Group --optimistic view of knowledge economy --”Me Inc.” – be your own “personal services company

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality Structure of Today's Talk: 1.0 More Knowledge Workers? 1.1 More Education? 1.2 Immigration 2.0 More Knowledge Employment? 3.0 Better Jobs? 3.1 Jobs-Education Mismatch 3.2 Workplace Training 4.0 Better Incomes? 5.0 The Other Side

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality 1.0 More Knowledge Workers? 1.1 More Education? --a well-educated population by international standards --over past 25 years percentage of population with a university degree has doubled --over 50% of year olds have graduated from university or college

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality 1.0 More Knowledge Workers? 1.1 More Education? Is Education More Accessible? --participation is strongly related to parent’s educational level

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality Participation Rates by Parent Education Level, 1991 and 2001 compared Participation Rates by Parent Education Level, 1991 and 2001 compared Source: StatsCan Cat # 11FOO19MIE-226

Source: Statistics Canada

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality 1.0 More Knowledge Workers? 1.1 Immigration – 24% of recent immigrants (age 25-64) who arrived work in highly skilled occupations, compared to only 13% who arrived between recent immigrants disproportionately represented in IT, engineering and natural sciences --but 43% still work in low skilled jobs –some with credentials cannot get them recognized

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality 2.0 More Knowledge Employment? --some “old economy” low skilled jobs have been swept away, but “new economy” has created both “good” (high knowledge) and “bad” (low knowledge) jobs -- but, while both types of jobs are being created, some evidence that knowledge jobs increasing (slightly) faster

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality

2.0 More Knowledge Employment? Change in % of total workforce, by skill level High-skilled Jobs 1316 Skilled jobs 3230 Low-Skilled Jobs 4543 Source: StatsCan Cat# 96FOO30XIE

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality Unemployment Rate by Level of Educational Attainment, 2001 Source: Conference Board of Canada

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality 3.0 Better Jobs?

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality Source: Gingras and Roy (2000)

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality 3.2 Workplace Training Who Receives Training?

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality Percentage of Employees Receiving Training in their Workplace, by Educational Attainment, 2001

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality 4.0 Better Incomes? Does More Education Lead to More Pay?

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality Average hourly wages, by Educational Attainment, 2003

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality -- Ample supply of university grads has stalled “Educational Premium”

Source: Morissette, Ostrovsky and Picot 2004 Ratio of median weekly earnings of university graduates to non-university (both employed full-time), US and Canada

The “Knowledge Economy”: Myth or Reality 4.0 The Other Side --over half a million Canadian still work at or below minimum wage --high skilled knowledge jobs account for 16% of total workforce, but as of % of full-time employees earned relatively low incomes (less than $375/wk) --knowledge economy contains mismatch between the expectation of human capital from the workforce and the use to which that capital is actually put