The Impact of Cohort Size on Labour Force Participation in Canada

Abstract

Due to decreasing birth rate and long-run decreasing mortality rates, the cohort size of each age group has changed considerably during the past three decades in Canada. This study examines the effects of age cohort changes of the population on the labour force participation rate for Canada. Using a panel dataset consisting of 10 Canadian provinces from 1983 to 2015 and the least squares dummy variable corrected (LSDVC) estimation method for dynamic long-panel data, we found that cohort size has negative effects on the labour force participation for both prime-age men and women in Canada.