Martin Prosperity Insights

Dear Santa, Who's Your City?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

For kids and for kids at heart, Christmas is often regarded as the most wonderful time of the year. Family, love, celebration and reflection are all aspects that make the Christmas season special. Giving is an important part of Christmas and no man understands this concept more than Santa Claus himself. After the many years of commuting on Christmas Eve, jolly old St. Nicholas is reconsidering his home at the North Pole. Given his job description, extreme isolation has lost its appeal. In true Christmas spirit, the MPI is offering Santa a top 10 list of places that would best suit him and his needs.p. Continue Reading »

The Occupational Classes: Not All Jobs are Created Equal - Conclusion

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Too often, the creative and service occupational classes are misrepresented as being in opposition with each other. This series of snapshots has established that the classes are hardly homogenous, and emphasized that considering them as such obscures some very real/worthwhile differences both within, between, and among the classes.p. Continue Reading »

The Occupational Classes: Not All Jobs are Created Equal - Number of Jobs Edition

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The sixth piece in our series exploring the characteristics of creative and service occupational classes considers the proportions and outcomes of workers who move from one job to another or hold two jobs at the same time.p. Continue Reading »

The Occupational Classes: Not All Jobs are Created Equal - Self-Employment Edition

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The fifth piece in our ongoing series exploring the characteristics of work in the creative and service occupational classes considers the economic outcomes of self-employed workers.p. Continue Reading »

The Occupational Classes: Not All Jobs are Created Equal - Work Schedule Edition

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The next edition of our comparative Insight series compares the creative and service occupational classes in terms of work schedule. A “traditional” work schedule is a regular daytime — Monday–Friday, 9–5 — working arrangement. A “non-traditional” arrangement is anything else — it may be more variable or entail shift work. Both are full time in terms of hours worked per week.p. Continue Reading »

The Occupational Classes: Not All Jobs are Created Equal - Benefits Edition

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Occupational Classes: Not All Jobs are Created Equal - Sex Edition

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In this Insight, the Martin Prosperity Institute continues its investigation into the differences between the creative class and the service class. This next Insight focuses on the distribution of and outcomes for these two occupational classes by sex. It answers descriptive questions such as: are the sexes evenly represented in each occupational class? Does sex carry a wage or income premium in a particular class? What proportion of part time workers (both voluntary and involuntary) are male or female?p. Continue Reading »

The Occupational Classes: Not All Jobs are Created Equal - Education Edition

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

At the Martin Prosperity Institute, the standard approach to analyzing the labour force is through the occupational classes established by the work of Director Richard Florida (2002). There are substantial variations in terms of the demographic characteristics of workers in each occupational class as well as the characteristics of the jobs themselves. In this series, the classes are presented comparatively in order to better identify and understand the similarities and differences in each.p. Continue Reading »

The Labour Force Post-Recession: A Woman’s World?

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Discussion of the post-recession labour force has consistently emphasized that male workers—typically employed in ever-declining working class occupations—have been disproportionately disadvantaged in the economic recovery as their jobs ‘disappear.’ Indeed, some argue that the economic crisis has tilted the playing field away from men, who have borne the brunt of blue collar job losses, and towards women, who are more concentrated in knowledge and service work. In line with this position. Media outlets have gone so far as to informally refer to the recession as a “man-cession” (Benerjee 2010), and The Atlantic ran a cover story musing “The End of Men?” (Rosin July/August 2010). Did the recession inadvertently crack the ‘glass ceiling’?p. Continue Reading »

Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Canada: Occupational Typology Influences Women’s Labour Force Participation

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Researchers at the Martin Prosperity Institute are presently engaged in comprehensive research that seeks to describe Florida’s occupational typology in Canada in greater detail using the
most recent and available Census data (2006). This exploratory project examines several facets
of the Canadian labour force, one of which is variation in the occupational classes by sex.p. Continue Reading »

What to do with 1,878 Irish immigrants from Cork? Peterborough’s Creative Economy

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Peterborough, Ontario, nestled in the Kawarthas tourism region, is a cottage gateway known for its arts and heritage scene. This distinct, almost bohemian, culture is of special interest contrasted against Peterborough’s surrounding, more conservative counties. In a recent paper written by Mike Kalisz and Jordan Berger for Professor Tom Phillips at Trent University, Peterborough is examined through the creative class framework, and identified as a potential creative hub.p. Continue Reading »

This is the Place: Cost, Location and Music Venues in Toronto

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In a recent insight we looked at the cost of monthly rehearsal spaces for musicians in the City of Toronto. The purpose was to highlight issues of affordability and space for independent musicians in the city. Our study found a total of 13 rehearsal studios across the Greater Toronto Area that offered monthly leases. Not surprisingly, our findings showed that the price of monthly rehearsal spaces for musicians in the central city were the most costly.p. Continue Reading »

Measuring Cultural Intensity: The Cultural Location Index

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A new report released last week by the City of Toronto entitled “From the Ground Up: Growing Toronto’s Cultural Sector,” examines the relationship between culture, economy and space in the city of Toronto. The report argues that a strong cultural sector has a variety of positive impacts on the and city’s competitiveness, prosperity and quality of place.p. Continue Reading »

Towards a Broader Conception of Economic Competitiveness

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The economic crisis has challenged popular conceptions of economic growth, both in terms of the definition and the measurement of it. While engendering growth and bolstering competitiveness remains high on political agendas, immediate attention has shifted to creating jobs, lifting wages, addressing inequality, and fostering long-term, sustainability prosperity.

A new report from the Martin Prosperity Institute, “Creativity and Prosperity: the Global Creativity Index,” addresses the challenge of nurturing sustainable economic development head-on, shifting the dialogue from a narrow focus on competitiveness and growth to a broader focus on creativity, prosperity, and well-being.p. Continue Reading »

China's Creative Economy: From East to West and North to South

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In August of 2010, China made economic history when it became the second largest economy in the world, over taking Japan in the process. As the largest emerging economy in the world, with a total GDP that surpasses that of Brazil, Russia and India combined, China has become a formidable political and economic force. While at this point in time China is still largely seen as the “world’s factory,” the country is beginning to show signs of an emerging post-industrial, creative economy in many of its most developed regions.p. Continue Reading »

The Value of Education Part 3: Variation in Returns to Education by Occupation

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As part of our on-going research into understanding the variation in wages and other working conditions around people whose primary work is service-oriented, what we call the Service Class, the Martin Prosperity Institute and the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity have looked at the impact of completed education on wage levels. We complete our current research into this topic by looking at how returns to education, especially among college and university graduates, vary by specific occupations. And, while the results support the general expectation that more education equals higher income, some unexpected variation among occupations is found.p. Continue Reading »

Cities Grow Ontario

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Cities Centre, Innis Urban Studies Program, and Martin Prosperity Institute (all at the University of Toronto) along with contributors from universities across Ontario, have just released Cities Grow Ontario: Urban Challenges and Prospects. The report is meant to draw attention during this provincial political season to the role of cities in generating Ontario’s prosperity and the impact that urbanization has across the entire province.p. Continue Reading »

The Value of Education, Part 2: Returns to Education by Occupational Class and Age

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As part of our on-going research into understanding the variation in wages and other working conditions around people whose primary work is service-oriented, what we call the Service Class, the Martin Prosperity Institute and the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity have looked at the impact of completed education on wage levels. We continue that investigation by looking at how the returns to education vary by occupational class and age. And, while the results support the general expectation that more education and experience equals higher income, interesting variation by occupational class and age are found.p. Continue Reading »

The Value of Education, Part 1: Changing Returns to Education

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As part of our on-going research into understanding the variation in wages and other working conditions around people whose primary work is service-oriented, what we call the Service Class, the Martin Prosperity Institute and the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity have looked at the impact of completed education on wage levels. We start with a look at how returns to education have varied in Canada over time. And, while the results support the general expectation that more education equals higher income, some interesting trends have developed over the past 35 years.p. Continue Reading »

Commerce in High Gear: The Geography of Bike Couriers in North America

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

They are some of the city’s most visible workers, a familiar blur in the downtowns of New York, Chicago and Toronto. With the advent of e-mail there has been less work for them, yet they do their work as they have always done it: with urgency. They are bike messengers (also known as bike couriers). Their job is to move contracts, monetary instruments, and other small packages around dense areas of the city- and to do it fast.p. Continue Reading »

Social Intelligence and Tomorrow’s Service Class Jobs

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As the political conversation in the US continues to center on job creation, many are wondering about what the jobs of the future are, and where they will be created. A recent cover article in Wired Magazine reflects the national mood. It draws in part on MPI research in a wide ranging discussion of the next “Smart Jobs” with a focus on what they are and where they will be located. While much of the Institute’s work focuses on understanding how knowledge/creative jobs evolve, it continues to deepen its understanding of the same issues among the Service Class through its Strength in Services research stream. One early finding, in the institute’s study of the “next” service jobs is that the service class work of the future will be more dependent on social intelligence skills.p. Continue Reading »

Where do new ideas come from? Strength in diversity. Power of place.

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Jane Jacobs thought that diversity was essential to a community’s ability to thrive economically, socially, and culturally. When different people live and work and play side-by-side, safe and vibrant urban spaces can grow which, in turn, stimulate sustainable and equitable economic growth.

In this same spirit, Martin Prosperity Institute (MPI) continues with its annual Experience the Creative Economy (ECE) conference, bringing together a leading group of early-career scholars from around the world to workshop the latest research methods and ideas for the creation of diverse urban environments.p. Continue Reading »

The Canucky-est City

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In honour of Canada Day, the Martin Prosperity Institute developed an index using a blend of eight quintessential “Canadian” metrics (per 100,000 residents) using a variety of data sources. They are: the number of breweries, the number of Tim Horton’s, number of syrup producers, number of fur stores, and the labour force share of the fishing, farming, and forestry class, number of Hudson Bay Company Stores (the Bay, Zeller’s, and Home Outfitters) as well as CHL and NHL hockey teams (we weighted NHL teams at twice a CHL team), by Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) and Census Agglomeration (CA). We also included a measure based on how close the distribution of language within the region is to the distribution of our two official languages.p. Continue Reading »

Toronto as Stepping-Stone, Halifax as Home?

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As creativity and innovation become even more important economic engines, North American cities compete to attract and retain the highly educated, mobile, and talented individuals who catalyze these activities. In the contemporary marketplace, however, not all strands of talent are created equal. Indeed, a robust literature in geography and cultural studies highlights the contributions of musical talent to the economic and social prosperity of city-regions. Yet, despite the important role that musicians play in city-regions, we know little about the specific factors that help to attract, incubate, and retain these individuals.p. Continue Reading »

Listening to the People: The Components of the Ideal City

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

During Doors Open Toronto (May 28 and 29), the Martin Prosperity Institute encouraged visitors to “Build Your Ideal City” in our ‘War Room.’ People drew, wrote, and commented on a large whiteboard on which a map of the City of Toronto was projected. Over the course of the weekend, the board was transformed through the ideas of our guests and by a range of ideas — while some seemed to be standard calls for city improvements, others offered provoking imaginings for a
better city.p. Continue Reading »

Boundaries as Barriers: Creative Muskoka Taking a Regional Approach

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A new report from researchers at the University of Toronto on the Creative Economy in Muskoka, “Building Upon Our Rich Resources,” explores the state and potential of Muskoka’s creative economy. The report highlights four primary challenges to fully realizing the potential of the creative economy in the region: communication, a lack of support for youth, entrepreneurs, and diverse populations, social supports (transportation and housing), and seasonality. Two of these — communication and seasonality — encapsulate the exclusive challenge that characterize the entire region.p. Continue Reading »

Is Oil the New Cod? Resource Redux in Newfoundland and Labrador

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Newfoundland and Labrador’s oil industry – the source of almost 30% of its GDP in 2009 – far surpassed the wealth created in all other industries that year in the province. As the price of a barrel of oil increased rapidly during the 1980s and 1990s, Newfoundland and Labrador oil became a viable venture for much of the world’s oil companies. As such, construction of the first oil rig, Hibernia, was completed in June of 1997 and began producing oil shortly after its completion. Today Newfoundland and Labrador is home to three major offshore oil exploration projects including Hibernia, Terra Nova, and White Rose with a fourth called Hebron set to begin operations in 2017. The question now is, how long will oil in Newfoundland and Labrador last and is the oil economy at risk of collapsing like the cod economy once did? In other words: is oil the new cod?p. Continue Reading »

Educated Service Workers Are Concentrated in Canadian Cities

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Labour force analysis conducted at the Martin Prosperity Institute organizes the labour force into four occupational groups: the creative class, the service class, the working class, and the fishing, farming, and forestry class. This categorization system is a useful way to think about the economy, because it classifies workers based on the type of work that they are paid to do, rather than simply their qualifications or industry placement.p. Continue Reading »

Our Doors are Open to Your Ideas

Wed, 25 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Effective city-building requires collaborative input from the public and private sectors, as well as direct citizen consultation. City planners are charged with the primary task of listening to these (often competing) concerns and preferences in their production and maintenance of an effective city. Yet the mechanics of a desirable city requires a chorus of voices and perspectives to ensure that the city’s function of serving and supporting residents and visitors while providing opportunities for interaction and recreation is sustained. Quite often, these ideas – efficient transit, effective streetscapes, accessible buildings, functional street furniture – are intuitive to community-members.p. Continue Reading »

The Recession Effect Varies by Occupational Class

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It is not unusual for conflicting assessments of the labour market to come from different sources in a similar time period. This is mostly due to the metrics used in competing analyses and their interpretation. Often, what happens is that it is reported that the unemployment rate is decreasing – which is viewed as a positive sign — when what is really happening is that people are leaving the labour force (and become “not in the labour force”). These individuals are commonly referred to as “discouraged workers”, and contribute to what is called “hidden unemployment.” This form of unemployment refers to the unemployment of potential workers that is not reflected in official unemployment statistics, and occurs as a result of the way the statistics are collected.p. Continue Reading »

Money for Nothing: The Rising Cost of Music Rehearsal Space in Toronto

Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In recent years scholars have noted that increases in land value have priced out artists from
Toronto’s central city. Most notably, studies have documented this phenomenon in Toronto’s South-Parkdale and Liberty Village (King-Dufferin) neighbourhoods where the presence of visual artists contributed to increasing land value but were subsequently displaced by it. In addition, Hracs has noted the displacement of independent musicians from Toronto who sought cheaper, more affordable space in suburbs (see Hracs 2009). While most studies emphasize locational difficulties for visual artists, the exploration of studio space for independent musicians has yet to be extensively investigated. It may therefore be problematic to lump independent musicians into the same category with visual artists when assessing issues of displacement and affordability. Even though independent musicians in Toronto face comparable struggles, they also face new and unique challenges when acquiring space.p. Continue Reading »

Time to Re-Invest in Creative Capital Gains: A $1 Investment from the City Leverages $17.75 for Cultural Organizations

Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In early 2011, the City of Toronto Economic Development committee called on three prominent Toronto citizens to assemble and co-chair the Creative Capital Advisory Council to update the City’s Culture Plan. The Advisory Council, led by Robert Foster, Karen Kain and Jim Prentice, and which included special advisors Richard Florida and Kevin Stolarick, as well as other key members of the cultural community, worked together to create new culture plan. The report, entitled “Creative Capital Gains: An Action Plan for Toronto” was released on May 4, 2011.p. Continue Reading »

HELP WANTED. But at what cost?

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The labour market is not responding to federal government projections: only half of Creative Class immigrants obtain creative employment once in Canada. A new Working Paper published at the Martin Prosperity Institute illustrates that the Canada labour market misallocates the talent/human capital of new immigrants to Canada, despite federally-set immigration goals.p. Continue Reading »

Large Creative Employment in a Region Associated with Higher Levels of Entrepreneurship and Regional Growth

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A recent publication in the MPI Working Paper Series from scholars at and affiliates of the Martin Prosperity Institute examines whether a metropolitan environment that is conducive to creative employment is also conducive to entrepreneurship (which can be seen as a creative act). For the purpose of the study, “entrepreneurship” is defined as the formation of a new place of work, or, more precisely, the birth of an establishment (a single physical location at which business is conducted); meaning that it is not only the utilization of previously acquired skills and training, but also a disposition to engage in a creative act. The research explores the impact of the presence of creative class workers in a region on the components of growth across regions.p. Continue Reading »

Jobs and Amenities: Modeling Talent Mobility and Regional Satisfaction

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

While it is generally agreed upon that talent is a key driver of economic growth, there is a fierce debate surrounding the optimal set of factors that help to attract and retain individuals with high levels of human capital (‘talent’) and mobility. One camp argues that good quality jobs must be present before talent will migrate while another camp argues that talented individuals are attracted to locations that offer a rich mix of amenities such as theatre, musical venues, restaurants, and other opportunities for recreation. In reality, however, the nature of work and what constitutes a ‘job’ is changing and preferences for work are differentiated by occupation, gender, ethnicity, life cycle, and past experience. As a result, understanding the conditions that attract and ultimately retain talent requires a multi-stage analysis. To move beyond the aforementioned jobs vs. amenities binary, Martin Prosperity Institute researchers Brian Hracs and Kevin Stolarick have developed a conceptual model that includes different stages and allows for the expectations and preferences of individuals to evolve over time while taking into account the draw of both jobs and amenities.p. Continue Reading »

Unpacking the Creative City: Better is Better

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Scientists are schooled with the tenet of Occam’s Razor. Unfortunately, this scientific cornerstone too often loses its preamble of equality and becomes truncated into the proclamation that, ‘simple is better.’ However, when ‘things’ are not equal, simple is not better – better is better. For academics, the need to effectively communicate complex research findings to the public, governments, and each other similarly encourages over-simplification. For those investigating the creative city, research and results are being focused on questions like: Do amenities or jobs drive regional development? Is understanding industries or occupations more important? Does human capital or the creative class do a better job of predicting regional success? Should conventional or more inclusive planning approaches be used? Do creative city or more traditional economic development approaches lead to better regional development? None of these ‘things’ to be compared are equal by any means.p. Continue Reading »

The Rise of the Creative Class, Since 1800

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The traditional “Rise of the Creative Class” graph has been updated with one hundred years of additional labour force data. While the original chart started in 1900, the new edition looks at the evolution of the US labour force from 1800 onwards.p. Continue Reading »

Needs Improvement: Immigrants to Canada Still Make Less than the Canadian-born

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Disconcerting as it may be, it is no secret that immigrants tend to fare worse than their Canadian-born peers. Despite building a national identity around multiculturalism and inclusiveness, economic equity – while perhaps implied – is actually not a prominent part of that collective narrative. In fact, if anything, pervasive income disparities, lower rates of labour market participation, and higher rates of unemployment have been part of the Canadian immigrant experience. A deep understanding of the factors that motivate this contemporary phenomenon is necessary to counter-act them with various policy tools.p. Continue Reading »

The Paradox of Unlimited Choice: Place Matters More than You Think in E-Commerce

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In the past few years we have learned that no matter the function “there’s an app for that.” And while mobile applications have brought solutions to a range of day-to-day problems from how to calculate tips to how to recognize songs on the radio, they have created one large problem: “How to find them”.p. Continue Reading »

Transit Deserts & Hulchanski's Three Cities

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In December (2010), the University of Toronto’s Cities Centre released an update to their influential 2007 “Three Cities within Toronto” report. This work identifies the growing income polarization and subsequent segregation within the City of Toronto while also describing the changing economic dynamics of the City over time (1970-2005).p. Continue Reading »

The Best Cities to Be a Kid on Christmas Morning

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

While parents love nestled, sleeping children, the best part of Christmas is Christmas morning. The stockings are all filled, the presents are under the tree, and Mom and Dad awaken to the very early morning sounds of children telling each other to “BE QUIET!” We decided to look and see which cities are the best ones to be a kid on Christmas morning. We looked at four criteria: (1) the over-abundance of other children in the region; (2) the number of toy and game stores per capita; (3) the number of candy stores per capita; and (4) the probability of having snow on Christmas Day.p. Continue Reading »

Why Playing Well With Others Makes You More Money

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In the final instalment on the creative content of occupations, the Martin Prosperity Institute reviews its recent research on the impact of skills on wages in metropolitan areas. Previous Insights have shown that occupational skills can be divided between analytical, social intelligence and physical skills—and that these skills have different impacts on wages. The relationship also varies by city size. In this Insight, previous findings are combined to see how earnings in a metropolitan area vary with the skill mix.p. Continue Reading »

Cities of different sizes draw on different types of skills

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In the third installment of the Martin Prosperity Institute’s series on the creative content of occupations, the role of city size is examined. In previous Insights, it has been shown how the horizontal differentiation of skills is important for earnings. An occupation requiring high levels of analytical or social intelligence skills is associated with higher wages, while physical skills are not. This Insight now looks to how these three skills relate to city size.p. Continue Reading »

Did Population Growth Make Metro Areas More Vulnerable to the Downturn?

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

For the past two decades, the Sunbelt has been praised for its rapid population growth. While the economic crisis and the bursting of the housing bubble has stalled the region’s once propulsive growth, there remains a staunch belief—a widely accepted conventional wisdom in urban and regional economic development circles that population growth essentially equals economic growth. But is that actually the case? To get at this we take a data-driven look at the connection between population growth in US metro regions and income, the most basic measure of underlying economic development.p. Continue Reading »

Recognize Skills to Improve Ontario’s Competitive Advantage

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In Ontario in the Creative Age the Martin Prosperity Institute examined how Ontario can gain a competitive advantage by raising the creative content of all occupations. The analysis began by looking at the skill content of occupations (see Insight “Occupations draw on three types of skills”), and how wages varied with the differing skill content.p. Continue Reading »

Knowledge-based clusters of U.S. and Canadian Metropolitan Areas

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In today’s economy, a highly educated population is a key to growth and prosperity. Policymakers at all levels of government are keen on increasing the educational attainment of residents residing in their regions. Economic analysts often use differences in the share of the population with a college degree to rank places according to the amount of human capital that is available in the workforce.p. Continue Reading »

Towards a World-Class Service Class: the Role of Toronto's Service Workers in Generating Jurisdictional Advantage

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

As the mayoral election race escalates, competing visions for the City’s economic agenda are emerging. Compared to its Canadian peers, Toronto is an economic giant, but the city has yet to definitively secure a position as a global leader. Our final Cities Centre 2010 Election series paper, Towards a World-Class Service Class, looks at Toronto’s opportunity to develop a specialized competitive advantage by recognizing, nurturing, and promoting high-quality service work.p. Continue Reading »

Open Data, Open City

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

With the economic collapse of 2008 came an intensification of interest in the accountability of large organizations. As the mayoral election approaches, efficiency in spending and service delivery have become increasingly debated concerns. As part of the Cities Centre’s Toronto 2010 Election Series, we’ve prepared Open Data, Open City, a look at the potential of open data to increase transparency, enhance citizen engagement with city hall, and spur innovation.p. Continue Reading »

Zoning for a Better Toronto

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The City of Toronto recently finalized a new Zoning Bylaw that will govern the growth of the City. As part of the Cities Centre’s Toronto 2010 Election Series, we’ve prepared Zoning for a Better Toronto, a consideration of the potential for more innovative zoning options in the city.p. Continue Reading »

How Toronto Measures Up: Comparing the City to its North American Peers

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In February 2009, Roger Martin and Richard Florida released Ontario in the Creative Age, a study of the changing composition of Ontario’s economy that provided recommendations on how the province can remain prosperous and globally competitive.

As part of the Cities Centre’s Toronto 2010 Election Series we’ve prepared Toronto in the Creative Age, a more modest research brief that aims to do something similar for the city of Toronto.p. Continue Reading »

Strength in Diversity: The Different Facets of Toronto's Key Strength

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

While most cities struggle to establish a unique identity, in recent decades Toronto has developed a singular distinction: the city of diversity. But what do we mean when we say “diversity”? Our default understanding of the word refers to ethnic (or population) diversity. But Toronto has strengths in economic diversity and neighbourhood diversity as well.p. "Continue Reading »":/insights/insight/strength-in-diversity

All Over the Map: The Geography of Service Work in Toronto

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

As part of the Cities Centre’s Toronto 2010 Election series, we’ve prepared The Geography of Toronto’s Service Class, a research brief that analyzes the location of Toronto’s service class jobs and their connections to transit. Our analysis found that service class jobs are widely distributed across the city, from parts of central Toronto to Etobicoke to North York to Scarborough. While the service class makes up the largest share of jobs in Toronto, creative class workplaces have significantly better access to the city’s fastest transit infrastructure.p. "Continue Reading »":/insights/insight/geography-of-service-work-in-toronto

Food Deserts and Priority Neighbourhoods in Toronto

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The past decade has seen growing concern regarding the state of food security and nutrition in many North American communities. Food security refers to the availability of food in an area and an individual’s access to it. While the benefits of a healthy diet on an individual’s quality of life and general health are becoming widely recognized, basic access to quality and affordable food remains a challenge for a growing number of communities. Neighbourhoods that do not have access to good quality and affordable food are labeled as “Food Deserts”. These neighbourhoods are often considered to be socially-distressed, characterized by low average household incomes. If policy makers wish to improve the health, productivity and general prosperity of communities within their jurisdictions, addressing the existence of food deserts is an important first step forward.p. Continue Reading »

Food Deserts, Enterprise Communities and Empowerment Zones in Chicago

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Releasing Constraints: The Impacts of Increased Accessibility on Ontario's Economy

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In 2005, the Ontario Legislature passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act to improve accessibility across the province. The disability community saw the legislation as a milestone in the government’s commitment to creating a level playing field for all Ontarians. But many businesses and municipalities across the province responded with skepticism, believing the act would result in increased costs and result in few benefits. However, a new study by the Martin Prosperity Institute, the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity and the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, titled Releasing Constraints: Projecting the Economic Impacts of Increased Accessibility in Ontario, finds that improving inclusivity and accessibility in Ontario provides both economic opportunity and benefits. The report examines the potential economic impacts of increased accessibility at three scales: individuals, markets, and society.p. Continue Reading »

Occupations Draw on Three Types of Skills

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Martin Prosperity Institute has developed some new measures of the elements of occupations that draw on workers’ knowledge and creativity. In this and future issues of Martin Prosperity Insights the MPI will share some of these results.p. Continue Reading »

High Speeds, High Costs, Hidden Benefits: A Broader Perspective on High-Speed Rail

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Opponents of high-speed rail have a common thread in their reasoning. Trains are fast and enjoyable to ride, they say, but when scrutinized by rigorous cost-benefit analysis their high cost simply cannot be justified. Typical analysis considers benefits like reduced travel times, reduced congestion, and reduced pollution. We make a case that it should also consider economy-expanding effects like expansion of the labour pool and job market, and extension of the effects of major infrastructure across a broader region.p. Continue Reading »

Santa's Toy Shoppe in the Creative Age

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

MPI researchers recently completed a comprehensive investigation of the operations of Santa’s Toy Shoppe, Inc. (STS). Located at the North Pole (postal code H-0-H-0-H-0), STS faces tremendous production challenges: their demand keeps growing each year with the world’s population, the complicated nature of some toys require long production times, they lack foreknowledge of the “must have” toy of the season (their collection of shopping mall “field agents” helps tremendously with collecting advance information on this), and they need to meet a very definite completion date.p. Continue Reading »

Supersized and Precarious: The Service Class in Canada

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Today, more Canadians are employed in service work than any other type of work. Current research by the Martin Prosperity Institute highlights the especially precarious nature of service work in Canada. Precarious occupations are those with limited job security, few employment benefits, a lack of control over the labour process, and very low wages. Service class work is characterized by each of these forms of precariousness.p. Continue Reading »

The Great Musical North

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

While the public perception exists that Canada is a hot spot for music and musicians, a comparison with the global leader in music production – the United States – helps us to separate perception from reality. We find that Canada has considerably greater per capita musical activity than the United States in terms of record labels, recording studios, and licensing houses. But the United States has much higher-earning businesses that are more heavily clustered in fewer places – especially Nashville, Los Angeles, and to a lesser extent, New York.p. Continue Reading »

Cities and CO2 - Bigger is Better

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

New research from our affiliate José Lobo and his colleagues indicates that environmental protection need not come at the expense of economic growth, and vice versa. With each increase of 1% in city population, growth in carbon emissions is 0.92%. In other words, as population increases, CO₂ emissions per capita drop. The relationship with economic output is even more significant: a 1% increase corresponds with only a 0.79% increase in carbon emissions.p. Continue Reading »

Creativity in the Rural Economy: Opportunities in Rural Areas & Smaller Centres

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Urban centres attract lots of attention from researchers and policy-makers interested in creative jobs and creative industries. But the potential of smaller centres and rural areas should not be overlooked. Job growth in rural Ontario in the decade between 1996 and 2006 was led by far by creative class workers at 22% – ahead of the working class at 13%, the service class at 9% and the agricultural and resource class, where the number of jobs actually fell by 20%.p. Continue Reading »

Inside the Creative Class: A Closer Look at U.S. Unemployment Rates

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The effects of an economic downturn are felt unequally by different groups. Those in creative class occupations – high-autonomy occupations where workers are paid to think such as artists, senior managers, doctors, and architects – experience a much lower rate of unemployment than other workers in both good times and bad. Our time series analysis of United States labour data finds that while some sub-groups of the creative class exhibit consistently higher unemployment, all of them typically outperform the national unemployment rate.p. Continue Reading »

Unemployment on the rise: Who’s hit most by the recession?

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the U.S. economy has shed 7.2 million jobs according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The U.S. unemployment rate has more than doubled since June 2007, from 4.6 to 9.5 percent. But what’s also clear is that the economic pain from the downturn is spread unequally.p. Continue Reading »

Head Office Clustering in the Mega-Regions

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Economists and geographers have long recognized the social and economic importance of cities, metropolitan areas, and other “sub-national” divisions. However, some are now realizing that a new and broader perspective on urban agglomeration helps us to understand productivity potential, employment growth, consumption patterns and innovation activity.p. Continue Reading »

Ottawa, Guelph and Victoria Are Among Canada’s Most Livable Cities

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Canada’s largest cities often top international “best of” lists. Vancouver was called the most livable city in the world by the Economist magazine, while Toronto was ranked the world’s 15th best place to live by AskMen.com, and Montreal’s “City Brand” was Ranked 13th. But Canada’s smaller cities should not be overlooked, according to new livability rankings from the Martin Prosperity Institute. Ottawa, Guelph, and Victoria compete with bigger cities in terms of livability, and have joined larger centers among the country’s most livable places.p. Continue Reading »

Leaders and Laggards of Ontario: How Our Metro Regions Stack Up

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Which of Ontario’s cities are better prepared for the profound transformation into the creative age?p. Continue Reading »

Why You Can't Get a Pizza Delivered in Stockholm

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Traditional research on the economic organization of countries and regions has focused only on industry; however, industrial analysis of the past neglects the role of human capital in clusters by focusing only on the demand side of the equation. Researchers Karen King, Charlotta Mellander and Kevin Stolarick instead bring the supply side to life as they dig deeper into occupations within industries.p. Continue Reading »

The Rise of the Service Class

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

A central theme of our work at the Martin Prosperity Institute is around the changing nature of our economy and the shift over time to a workforce that requires more creative skill than has been previously demanded. We speak often about the importance of the creative class in regional economic development, but what about the contributions from the other occupational groups? Especially those working as low wage service workers in the highly routinized occupations of the service class?p. Continue Reading »

Recent Immigrants are the Most Educated and Yet Underemployed in the Canadian Labour Force

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Every year over 200,000 immigrants move to Canada, many of them in search of economic
opportunity. But is there actual opportunity to be found? It seems that for every story of a recent immigrant who struck it big in Canada, there is a story of an Indian engineer who must work as a cab driver, or a Chinese surgeon that cannot obtain credentials. Analysis of recently released 2006 data, confirms that educated immigrants are underemployed in the Canadian labour force.p. Continue Reading »

Inside Canada’s Black Box of Regional Development

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Creative Class / Human Capital / Income / Service Diversity / Technology / Tolerance / University

What do these terms have in common and how do they contribute to regional prosperity? These terms are often studied independently; however, a closer look reveals that they are all interconnected and form an economic ecosystem that facilitates regional development.p. Continue Reading »

Driving Away: The Impact of a 50 percent Drop in the Demand for Ontario’s Automotive Output

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

An issue that has been simmering in Ontario for decades, if not a century, relates to the prospects for the province’s manufacturing sector. Ontario is the manufacturing heart of Canada, and given this specialization, the province is susceptible to periods of declining demand for manufactured products, most often triggered by periods of economic recession in the U.S.p. Continue Reading »

Ontario on the Move: Put Infrastructure Where it’s Needed

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Economic history has shown that changes in infrastructure systems have often underlain phases of significant economic growth. Railroads in the 19th century, highway systems of the 1960s, and the internet infrastructure of the late 20th century are prime examples. The innovation that gives rise to new infrastructure systems is often a response to severe stress and is often driven by desperate circumstances. Ontario’s opportunity lies not in reacting to a crisis but in proactively investing in the infrastructure necessary for future success.p. Continue Reading »

A New Menu for Ontario’s Food Economy

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Ontario has long been a producer of food, but the nature of that production has changed significantly as has the quality. Now there is a buzz around food, and Ontario has the opportunity to be at the forefront of food innovations.p. Continue Reading »

Ontario Values Creative Class Occupations Less than our U.S. Peers Do

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The fastest growing jobs in Ontario today are creative class jobs, where workers are paid to think for a living. These are the jobs most regions prize; and their importance to prosperity will only increase.p. "Continue Reading »":/insights/insight/ontario-values-creative-class-occupations-less-than-our-us-peers-do

Economic Pain Not Spread Equally

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

If a recession hits Ontario, as many think is already the case, will its turbulence affect all of us in the same way? Not if past history is a guide.

Martin Prosperity Institute researchers using the definition initially introduced in Richard Florida’s Rise of the Creative Class have examined century-long trends in employment in four major economic classes of workers: Creative class, Service class, Working class, and Farming/forestry/fishing class.p. Continue Reading »

The Creative Density of Cities

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Cities like Toronto and Portland are already encouraging more density to cut down on sprawl and pollution, and protect green space. But researchers at the Martin Prosperity Institute argue that there’s another reason to encourage people, especially creative people, to live near each other in cities: it makes them more likely to innovate and develop new ideas that lead to growth and prosperity.p. Continue Reading »