| Abstract: | The class shares of income in the Canadian economy and public policy developments are closely related. A comparison of the levels and trends in functional income shares with those in the United States economy generates a number of testable hypotheses. In this paper, the functional shares in all Canadian agriculture and agricultural regions are also observed and compared to US. agriculture and adjacent type of fanning regions.
The analysis indicates a marked similarity in the total economy income shares despite dissimilar factor supply functions. In both countries there has been a slight upward trend in the labor share over time. The rate and pattern of growth has also been similar in the two countries; however, a serious divergence has developed in recent years. In contrast to the total economies, declining farm labor income shares characterize both agricultures. Real estate shares also have followed a similar pattern in the two countries, with the past two decades witnessing a reversal in the historical decline. Nevertheless, there are a number of differences between factor shares in Canadian and United States agriculture. In part, these can be explained by comparing adjacent regions. It is clear, however, that the different impact of technological change and economic growth has bad a great impact on regional shares. The operation of capital and labor markets within Canadian agriculture also contribute to the differences in agricultural factor shares between the two countries. |
