Economy Security in Nova Scotia

Abstract

This report constructs an index of economic security for Nova Scotia using the CSLS methodology, covering the 1981–2007 period. It examines four components of economic security—security from unemployment, illness, single-parent poverty, and old-age poverty—and compares Nova Scotia’s performance to Canadian provincial averages. Nova Scotia ranked third out of ten provinces in 1981 and fourth in 2007. The report also examines three components of the social safety net: minimum wages, social assistance benefits, and child benefits, finding that welfare benefits in Nova Scotia declined more sharply in real terms than the Canadian average.

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