IMPORTANCE

The Alberta Centre for Labour Market Research is the premier destination for Canadian labour market expertise and an essential Canadian destination for unbiased, high-quality labour market information and research.

Our organization represents a collective of Alberta based researchers, including from four comprehensive academic and research universities, with our research aggregated and efficiently disseminated through the ACLMR. Our research is positioned to help inform provincial, regional, and federal labour market policies.

ACLMR is a place where any interested party, be it a researcher, policy maker, business owner, or labour organizer, can find the best research and/or researcher that fits their needs.

Labour markets involve the direct interactions between individuals as workers (who supply their labour) and firms as employers (who demand their labour), with indirect roles for multiple levels of government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and unions, helping to regulate and shape how these interactions take place. Thus, each of the parties directly or indirectly involved relies on access to high quality labour market information to make evidence-based decisions.

In an Alberta context, the cyclical nature of the provincial economy, coupled with vulnerability to exogenous shocks, means that the province faces a number of consistent and/or recurring challenges in terms of labour. These challenges include dynamics on both the supply and demand side, and are compounded by a number of related issues, including historical patterns of employment and compensation that are less and less applicable, challenges with the development and retention of skilled labour (geographically, temporally, and sectorally), demographic changes that correspond to gaps in labour supply, as noted by Howery 2019, the significant economic presence of the energy sector, coupled with an increasing impact of technology and automation, as well as increasing variation in both the nature of work, and the expectations/experiences of those engaged in the workforce.

The above factors demand stakeholders ranging from policymakers to employers have access to highquality real-time labour market information. However, today, access to public information on labour markets is often not readily available or of good enough quantity and quality to guide the best decisions. This information can also be clouded by the competing biases of some of the parties involved, looking to extend their influence by exhausting resources to actively advocate on their own behalf. For example, some firms may have monopsony (or buying of labour) power over workers and some unions may have monopoly (or selling of labour) power over firms, so they may flood the public with misleading information, making it difficult to gauge what is true. When such misinformation or disinformation is further tied to specific ideologies and gathered without the necessary training to understand and properly explain the observed outcomes, the situation becomes more problematic.

 

Our solution is the establishment of the Alberta Centre for Labour Market Research. Through our Centre, labour researchers housed across all four comprehensive academic and research universities (CARUs), policy researchers (e.g., economic development agencies), and industry researchers (e.g., industry and professional associations) will have efficient access to the leading labour market research.

The centralizing and opening-up access to province-specific labour market research will contribute to enhance collaboration, agility, and the impact of outcomes. With greater collaboration and a more amplified voice, all parties involved in labour markets will benefit.

The ACLMR is hosted by the University of Alberta and is open to all researchers studying labour market dynamics in the province.

Policy Specific Publications

2025

MONETARY POLICY STRATEGIES IN ADVANCED AND EMERGING ECONOMIES

2025

SAFETY NETS AND INVESTMENT CHOICES

2024

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND PRECOLLEGE HUMAN CAPITAL

2024

DESIGNING DISABILITY INSURANCE REFORMS: TIGHTENING ELIGIBILITY RULES OR REDUCING BENEFITS?

2024

FIRST TO $15: ALBERTA'S MINIMUM WAGE POLICY ON EMPLOYMENT BY WAGES, AGES, AND PLACES

2024

FROM FARMS TO TABLES: QUANTIFYING THE EFFECT OF EMISSIONS PRICING ON CANADIAN FOOD PRICES

2024

INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION, PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH, AND FISCAL FEDERALISM IN CANADA: BRINGING TOGETHER ECONOMICS, LAW, AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

2024

MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCING AND ITS EFFECT ON SENTENCING DISTRIBUTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM CANADA

2024

SETTLING BEYOND BIG CITIES: A SCOPING REVIEW OF THE CANADIAN LITERATURE ON IMMIGRATION TO RURAL AND SMALLER COMMUNITIES

2024

THE HETEROGENEOUS EFFECTS OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS ON CRIME ACROSS THE WORLD

2023

AN EVALUATION OF POLICY RESPONSES TO REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT IN RURAL CANADA

2023

IMPACT OF TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY AND INPUT-DRIVEN GROWTH IN THE INDIAN FOOD PROCESSING SECTOR

2023

PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION OF A DIRECT PAYMENT PROGRAM FOR EQUITY IN DEMENTIA CARE IN NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA: A STUDY PROTOCOL

2023

REFORMING CANADA'S FEDERAL HEALTH-CARE FUNDING ARRANGEMENTS

2023

WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: CHINA?S OPEN DOOR POLICY AND DECLINING EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

2022

NAVIGATING THE SYSTEMIC CONDITIONS OF A DIGITAL HEALTH ECOSYSTEM IN ALBERTA, CANADA: EMBEDDED CASE STUDY

2021

FISCAL INTEGRATION WITH INTERNAL TRADE: QUANTIFYING THE EFFECTS OF FEDERAL TRANSFERS IN CANADA

2021

FOSTERING EVIDENCE-INFORMED DECISION-MAKING FOR PROTECTED AREAS THROUGH THE ALBERTA PARKS SOCIAL SCIENCE WORKING GROUP

2021

POLICY RESPONSES TO AUTOMATION IN CANADA

2021

TEMPORARY VERSUS PERMANENT MIGRATION: THE IMPACT ON EXPENDITURE PATTERNS OF HOUSEHOLDS LEFT BEHIND

2020

AN ENTREPRENEURIAL VIEW OF UNIVERSAL WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING

2020

FATAL ATTRACTION? EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, LABOR FORCE EXITS, AND MORTALITY

2020

THE EFFECT OF MIGRATION POLICY ON GROWTH, STRUCTURAL CHANGE, AND REGIONAL INEQUALITY IN CHINA

2019

ANALYSIS OF CARBON TAX TREATMENT IN CANADA'S EQUALIZATION PROGRAM

2019

JURISPRUDENCE AND DEMAND FOR HALAL MEAT IN OIC

2019

OPPORTUNITIES FOR BETTER USE OF COLLECTIVE ACTION THEORY IN RESEARCH AND GOVERNANCE FOR INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT

2019

PRIORITIZING RESEARCH QUESTIONS FOR PROTECTED AREA AGENCIES: A CASE STUDY OF PROVINCIAL PARKS IN ALBERTA, CANADA

2018

INCOME EFFECTS ON INTRA-HOUSEHOLD TIME ALLOCATION: REGRESSION DISCONTINUITY EVIDENCE

2018

THE RIGOUR-RELEVANCE GAP IN PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMES: BRIDGING THE "UNBRIDGEABLE' BETWEEN HIGHER EDUCATION AND PRACTICE

2017

ACCESS TO POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION: HOW DOES QUEBEC COMPARE TO THE REST OF CANADA?

2017

DYNAMIC SKILL ACCUMULATION, EDUCATION POLICIES, AND THE RETURN TO SCHOOLING

2017

INNOVATION, FIRM SIZE AND THE CANADA-US PRODUCTIVITY GAP

2017

INSTITUTIONAL BIOGRAPHY AND KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION: AN ANALYSIS OF CANADIAN BUSINESS SCHOOL FACULTY

2017

PUBLIC HEALTH AT THE WATERSHED SCALE

2016

ACADEMIC AND PRACTITIONER ANTECEDENTS OF SCHOLARLY OUTCOMES: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT OF BUSINESS SCHOOL FACULTY

2016

EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND EARLY RETIREMENT: PROGRAM COMPLEMENTARITY AND PROGRAM SUBSTITUTION

2016

HIERARCHICAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT

2016

INTERNAL TRADE, PRODUCTIVITY AND INTERCONNECTED INDUSTRIES: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

2016

POVERTY AND AGING

2015

ACCESS AND BARRIERS TO POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION: EVIDENCE FROM THE YOUTH IN TRANSITION SURVEY

2015

ASSESSING THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SOCIAL KNOWLEDGE: A SURVEY OF SIX LEADING CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES

2015

CONVERGENCE AND DIVERSITY: INTEGRATING ENCOUNTERS WITH HEALTH, ECOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL CONCERNS

2015

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND MISALLOCATION: THE PRODUCTIVITY EFFECT OF INTENSITY STANDARDS

2015

SOCIAL COHESION AND RESILIENCE ACROSS COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED A DISASTER

2014

ALBERTA'S PRIORITY RURAL POLICY RESEARCH QUESTIONS

2014

IMPACT OF POLICY DISTORTIONS ON FIRM-LEVEL INNOVATION, PRODUCTIVITY DYNAMICS AND TFP

2014

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AS POVERTY REDUCING STRATEGY FOR WOMEN

2013

A NOTE ON CANADIAN MIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES DURING THE 1980S AND 1990S

2013

ELECTED VERSUS APPOINTED POLICY MAKERS: EVIDENCE FROM CITY TREASURERS

2013

FISCAL POLICY, RETURNS TO SKILLS, AND CANADA-US MIGRATION: EVIDENCE FROM THE LATE 1990S

2013

HOW MUCH DOES ANNUITY DEMAND REACT TO A LARGE PRICE CHANGE?

2012

EXCHANGE RATE VOLATILITY AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE FLOWS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

2012

FROM RURAL RESEARCH TO POLICY AND BACK AGAIN INTRODUCTION

2011

CHILDHOOD DETERMINANTS OF RISK AVERSION: THE LONG SHADOW OF COMPULSORY EDUCATION

2011

DO HOUSING BUBBLES GENERATE FISCAL BUBBLES? EVIDENCE FROM CALIFORNIA CITIES

2011

GENERATION OF PRIORITY RESEARCH QUESTIONS TO INFORM CONSERVATION POLICY AND MANAGEMENT AT A NATIONAL LEVEL

2011

THE IMPACT OF STRICTER CRITERIA FOR DISABILITY INSURANCE ON LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION

2010

TOWARDS INTEGRATED GOVERNANCE FOR WATER, HEALTH AND SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS: THE WATERSHED GOVERNANCE PRISM

2009

DOES THE STATUE OF LIBERTY STILL FACE OUT? 1 THE DIVERSION OF FOREIGN STUDENTS FROM THE UNITED STATES TO CANADA IN THE POST 9/11 PERIOD

2007

GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLICY INTEGRATION: THE MARGINALIZATION OF POLISH AND CZECH ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS IN THE FACE OF TECHNOCRATIC EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE

2006

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CANADA-UNITED STATES BRAIN DRAIN OF THE 1990S? NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE 2000 US CENSUS

2005

DIVERSIFICATION, SPECIALIZATION, CONVERGENCE AND DIVERGENCE OF SECTORAL EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURES IN THE BRITISH URBAN SYSTEM, 1991-2001

2005

THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN RISK REGULATIONS: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND EUROPEAN UNION

2004

EUROCRATISING ENLARGEMENT? EU ELITES AND NGO PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY