The Economics of Canadian Immigration Levels

Monday, March 18, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

ED-2018A

Department of Economics Visiting Speaker Dr Mikal Skuterud

Description: In hope of addressing chronic labour shortages and sluggish economic growth, the Canadian government plans to increase immigration in the coming years to per capita levels not reached since the 1920s. We argue that economic immigration in the Canadian context should aim to boost GDP per capita in the full population including the newcomers. We then examine the potential for increases in Canadian immigration levels to achieve this objective. Our analysis suggests that Canada is not well-positioned to leverage heightened immigration to boost GDP per capita owing primarily to weak capital investment and quantity-quality tradeoffs in immigrant selection. We conclude by providing a framework for identifying the optimal level of economic immigration.

Dr. Mikal Skuterud is a Full Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Waterloo, Director of the Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), Fellow-in-Residence and Roger Phillips Scholar of Social Policy at the C.D. Howe Institute, and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA). He received his Master’s degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia and his Ph.D. in Economics from McMaster University.

Presented by Department of Economics

Event Listing 2024-03-18 14:30:00 2024-03-18 15:45:00 America/St_Johns The Economics of Canadian Immigration Levels Department of Economics Visiting Speaker Dr Mikal Skuterud Description: In hope of addressing chronic labour shortages and sluggish economic growth, the Canadian government plans to increase immigration in the coming years to per capita levels not reached since the 1920s. We argue that economic immigration in the Canadian context should aim to boost GDP per capita in the full population including the newcomers. We then examine the potential for increases in Canadian immigration levels to achieve this objective. Our analysis suggests that Canada is not well-positioned to leverage heightened immigration to boost GDP per capita owing primarily to weak capital investment and quantity-quality tradeoffs in immigrant selection. We conclude by providing a framework for identifying the optimal level of economic immigration. Dr. Mikal Skuterud is a Full Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Waterloo, Director of the Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), Fellow-in-Residence and Roger Phillips Scholar of Social Policy at the C.D. Howe Institute, and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA). He received his Master’s degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia and his Ph.D. in Economics from McMaster University. ED-2018A Department of Economics