$6 million to improve lagging productivity

MRU economist Dr. Qiongda Zhao, PhD's research into how public policy influences labour market outcomes from early on in careers through retirement is contributing to a federal effort to improve Canada's productivity.

Qiongda, along with Dr. David Finch, PhD, professor of innovation and marketing, belong to the Alberta Centre for Labour Market Research (ACLMR), part of a large national research partnership that recently received $6 million in federal funding aimed at strengthening the nation's productivity performance, which is seen as key to Canada's long-term resilience and prosperity.

Canada's productivity is lagging due to chronic underinvestment in machinery, technology and intellectual property, combined with low business competition, weak innovation and regulatory hurdles. This results in a lower capital-to-labour ratio, meaning workers have increasingly less advanced equipment to work with as compared to other countries.

The new multistakeholder partnership, announced by federal Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly, will leverage long-term, high-impact research in the social sciences and humanities to develop and enact transformative economic policy.

More than 30 team members, six federal government partners and several university partners across the country will be part of the partnership. Through working groups, embedded researcher programs and joint conferences, it will support a lasting collaboration between researchers and policy-makers, producing knowledge and evidence that can be applied to long-term decision-making.

This partnership includes federal government partners (Bank of Canada; Finance Canada; Global Affairs Canada; Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada; Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Statistics Canada), university partners (HEC Montréal; Memorial University; Western University; McMaster University and the Rotman School of Management; and the University of Toronto) and non-governmental partners (the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, the Alberta Centre for Labour Market Research and the Canadian AI Adoption Initiative).

The Alberta Centre for Labour Market Research brings together researchers from across the province who study labour markets, skills, productivity and workforce dynamics. Its focus is on generating evidence-based research that helps policymakers, employers and the public better understand labour market trends and challenges, particularly those relevant to Alberta's economy.

Finch, with MRU's Bissett School of Business, was involved in the initiative's early stages and is focusing on examining the relationship between human capital and productivity.

Finch and UCalgary economist Dr. Trevor Tombe, PhD, who leads the newly announced initiative, were part of the original ACLMR Government of Alberta funding application in 2023 led by Dr. Joseph Marchard, PhD, at the University of Alberta. They received $400,000 a year for three years and used it to support academic researchers studying the Alberta labour market.

In 2024, they launched The Productivity Project. The ACLMR and the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy have both supported this work conducted by a diverse research team.

Zhao, an assistant professor of economics for the Department of Economics, Justice and Policy Studies, is also involved in the ACLMR.

"In connection with the Centre, my research focuses on labour markets and public policy from a life-cycle perspective," Zhao says.

One project, she explains, studies how changes to the Canada Pension Plan affect when people retire and how their income evolves later in life. Other projects examine parental leave and child benefits (and how these policies shape work decisions), family choices and long-term economic security.

"Together, this research looks at how public policy influences labour market outcomes from early career through retirement.

"More broadly, research can contribute to Canada's productivity challenge by helping identify where inefficiencies arise, such as skills mismatches, barriers to labour force participation, or policy design issues. Good evidence helps policymakers focus on what works and what doesn't. It supports better, more targeted solutions."

The grant is a first-of-its-kind funding opportunity, bestowed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) through its new pilot Policy Innovation Partnership Grants program.

"Boosting Canada's productivity requires bold ideas, strong partnerships, and research that drives real-world impact," Joly says. "This investment brings together leading experts from across the country and will generate the evidence and insight needed to shape smarter economic policy for the long term. The Government of Canada is proud to support this innovative, collaborative work that strengthens Canada's competitiveness and builds a more prosperous future for all Canadians."