W. Craig Riddell

In this paper, the authors examine the relationship between age and basic literacy skills in Canada, Norway, and the United States, using data from the 1994 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (IALSS).

The authors of this document have used data from the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) to analyse the role cognitive skills play in the fact that immigrants earn less than their Canadian-born counterparts.

The study presented here examines the link between literacy, the economy, and individual income, the premise being that an individual with greater literacy skills would be expected to have better employment opportunities and command higher earnings. The authors begin by examining the distribution of literacy skills in the Canadian economy and how they are generated, looking in particular at schooling and parental influence.

This study uses Canadian data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) to investigate the relationship between labour market success and literacy skills, specifically prose literacy, document literacy and quantitative literacy or numeracy. Earnings is the most commonly used and widely accepted measure of labour market success.