The Size and Structure of Native-White Wage Differentials in Canada

Abstract

The labor market behavior of aboriginal Canadians has been little studied by economists. This paper establishes some basic empirical regularities concerning the wages of natives in Canada, applying techniques drawn from the earnings function literature to the Statistics Canada 1986 Census Public Use Sample Tape. The raw wage gap between aboriginal and white Canadians is relatively small compared with that of other disadvantaged groups in North America, and it is smaller for women than for males. Differences in observable characteristics such as education, language, and region account for as much as 50 percent of the overall white-native wage gap.