HIGHLIGHTS of WORKING PAPER OCTOBER 2016 27 LOOKING BEYOND GDP Measuring prosperity in Ontario
S PROSPERITY GAP Ontario has ranked in near-last place compared to its peer jurisdictions on GDP per capita since 2001. HIGHEST 13 TH OUT OF 16 S LOWEST 15 TH OUT OF 16 S Economic measures are only one aspect of prosperity and GDP has its drawbacks: Includes undesirable activity, such as accidents and war that contribute positively to GDP. Hard to capture value of services. Does not capture non-market based activities (e.g., housework). Index of Well-Being 9.5 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.0 6.5 Canada Well-Developed countries Sweden United States For well-developed countries like Canada, improvements in GDP do not guarantee improvements in well-being. 6.0 40 50 60 70 GDP per capita (000 US 2015) The Institute expanded its lens to include 11 aspects of prosperity as measured in the 's Regional Well-Being Database.
LESSONS FOR 1) No region excels in all indices. 2) Ontario performs well on most indices, mainly social ones, but needs to improve on the economic indices of jobs and income. 3) GDP is still a useful measure to demonstrate the magnitude of the economic prosperity gap. RECOMMENDATIONS Ontario has the greatest opportunity to boost productivity by: Phasing out the small business deduction to incentivize firm growth. Increasing the availability and affordability of child care to increase the female labour force participation rate. Strengthening the alignment between employers and post-secondary institutions to close the skills gap and improve R&D performance. Increasing ICT adoption by SMEs to enhance productivity.
RANKS 5TH ON THE OVERALL REGIONAL WELL-BEING INDEX 1st place British Columbia 2nd place 3rd place Sweden 4th place Ontario 5th place Québec 6th place 7th place Ohio 8th place Michigan 9th place 10th place Indiana 11th place ACCESS TO SERVICES Households with broadband access 84.2 % 95.0 % Korea 98.5 % 72.2 % Mexico 33.7 % PERFORMS WELL HEALTH Mortality rate (per 1,000 pop.) Life expectancy British Columia MORTALITY RATE 6.9 81.8 YRS 6.5 82.3 YRS LIFE EXPECTANCY Japan 6.0 83.0 YRS 10.1 11.5 76.3 YRS Hungary 75.7 YRS SAFETY Homicide rate (per 100,000 pop.) 1.2 0.9 Iceland 0.3 Michigan 6.4 Mexico 19.5 EDUCATION Workforce with at least secondary education 90.5 % PERFORMS WELL CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Voter turnout 92.0 % Czech Republic 95.0 % 75.9 % Mexico & Turkey 40.0 % 68.3 % 93.9 % 93.9 % 55.7 % Slovak Republic 43.4 %
ENVIRONMENT Air pollution (level of PM 2.5): 8.5 8.5 2.8 Iceland 1.8 13.6 Korea 23.7 PERFORMS AVERAGE HOUSING Rooms per person LIFE SATISFACTION Self assessment of life satisfaction (1 10) Sweden 2.4 2.7 S Canada & USA 2.4 Turkey, Poland 1.7 S & Mexico 1.0 7.3 British Columbia 7.6 Denmark 7.7 Ohio 6.8 Hungary 5.0 INCOME Disposable income per capita (C2010) 27,300 44,300 USA 37,300 21,600 Mexico 3,400 PERFORMS POORLY JOBS Unemployment rate Employment rate COMMUNITY Perceived social network support Québec UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (U) 7.3 % 67.3 % U 5.6 % E 76.7 % Japan U 3.4 % E 82.9 % U 7.7 % U 26.2 % E 66.2 % Greece E 50.5 % 92.0 % EMPLOYMENT RATE (E) Michigan 97.2 % Iceland 96.9 % Indiana 91.0 % Turkey 76.0 %
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