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Economic Issues for Older Aboriginal People – what story can/does the data tell?

Economic Issues for Older Aboriginal People – what story can/does the data tell?. Lori J. Curtis, PhD Canada Research Chair in Health Economics and Technology Department of Economics University of Waterloo Aboriginal Experiences in Aging Symposium September 17-19

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Economic Issues for Older Aboriginal People – what story can/does the data tell?

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  1. Economic Issues for Older Aboriginal People – what story can/does the data tell? Lori J. Curtis, PhDCanada Research Chair in Health Economics and TechnologyDepartment of EconomicsUniversity of Waterloo Aboriginal Experiences in Aging Symposium September 17-19 Acknowledge SEDAP, SSHRC, CFI funding

  2. Why do I ask – What story can/does the data tell us? • Data Sources on Aboriginal Peoples are scarce • Census (1991, 1996, 2001, 2006): • ‘The objective of the census is to provide detailed information, at a single point in time, on the demographic, social and economic conditions of the population of Canada. During collection of information from the entire population on Census Day, a small percentage is inevitably not counted. Undercoverage is considerably higher among Aboriginal people than among other segments of the population due to the fact that enumeration was not permitted, or was interrupted before it could be completed. These geographic areas are called 'incompletely enumerated Indian reserves and settlements.' Data are not available for incompletely enumerated Indian reserves and settlements. • Public release data does not include a geographic indicator for on/off-reserve (includes whether or not the person is registered/band Indian). • 2006 data has not been released – limited information is available from Statistics Canada profiles.

  3. Why do I ask – What story can/does the data tell us? • Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) (1991, 2001, 2006): • The Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) provides data on the social and economic conditions of Aboriginal people in Canada. Its specific purpose was to identify the needs of Aboriginal people focusing on issues such as health, language, employment, income, schooling, housing, and mobility. The survey was designed and implemented in partnership with national Aboriginal organizations. • APS 1991 – Adult Microdata publicly available • APS 2001 – Only data Off-Reserve Adults (important SES variables grouped differently from APS1991 so cannot compare over time) • APS 2006 – not yet available – no coverage of reserves

  4. Does the data say the same thing? • 1991 Census groups – • All people who report Aboriginal ancestry (1) • People Registered Under Indian Act (2) • APS 1991 groups – • All people surveyed (3) • People Registered Under Indian Act (4) • People living On-Reserve (5) • People living Off-Reserve (6) • Compare Aboriginal Peoples Survey 1991 (APS 1991) to 1991 Census for selected ages • Compare (1) to (3) (graphs shown) • Compare (2) to (4) • Compare (1) to (6)

  5. Does the data say the same thing? • All Aboriginals – Compared APS 1991 to the Census • under-reports low income, low education and unemployment of Aboriginal people • over-reports mid to higher income, higher education and employment of Aboriginal people • Census provides optimistic version of Aboriginal Socio-economic status (SES) for All Aboriginals • Any gaps between non-Aboriginals and Aboriginals represents lower bound (likely bigger) • Registered Indians – Compared APS 1991 to the Census • Reporting patterns similar but fewer significant differences • Likely more representative but samples small and difficult to subdivide into age groups • APS 1991 Off-reserve – Compared APS 1991 to the Census • Reporting patterns similar but fewer significant differences • Fairly representative of off-reserve aboriginals

  6. Economy

  7. What story does the data tell us? • Aboriginals fair more poorly on Socio-economic indicators than do Non-Aboriginals – almost always they are substantially worse off in these data (recall compared to APS91 Census provided an optimistic view of Aboriginal peoples circumstances) • Females are worse off in both Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal groups • Relative differences have diminished for some indicators over time but the convergence seems to be due to the worsening of Non-Aboriginal conditions rather than bettering of Aboriginal circumstances (e.g. LICO) • The older Aboriginal groups are in particularly poor circumstances when examining many indicators of SES. • Better data would allow us to better describe the economic circumstances of Aboriginal Peoples, particularly those living on reserve.

  8. What story does the data tell us? • thank you for your attention.

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