--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/human-capital-and-productivity-in-british-columbia/" title: "Human Capital and Productivity in British Columbia" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T13:24:53+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T13:24:53+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Aboriginal education" - "British Columbia" - "graduate training" - "high school completion" - "human capital" - "immigration" - "productivity" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "BC" research_theme: - "Labour Markets" - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" - "Regional Economic Development" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Human Capital and Productivity in British Columbia Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/human-capital-and-productivity-in-british-columbia/ # Human Capital and Productivity in British Columbia [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2011-10-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Murray, Alexander, and Andrew Sharpe. 2011. “Human Capital and Productivity in British Columbia.” CSLS Research Report 2011-10. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/human-capital-and-productivity-in-british-columbia/ ## Authors: - Alexander Murray Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2011-10 August 2011 87 pages ## Related research [Creating a More Efficient Labour Market Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) June 2001 | Report 2001-02 | 147 pages](https://csls.ca/research/creating-a-more-efficient-labour-market/) [Productivity Trends in Natural Resources Industries in Canada Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2003 | Report 2003-01a | 69 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-trends-in-natural-resources-industries-in-canada/) [Productivity in the Forest Products Sector: A Review of the Literature Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2003 | Report 2003-02 | 28 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-in-the-forest-products-sector-a-review-of-the-literature/) [An Analysis of Productivity Trends in the Forest Products Sector in Canada Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2003 | Report 2003-01b | 64 pages](https://csls.ca/research/an-analysis-of-productivity-trends-in-the-forest-products-sector-in-canada/) [Why Are Americans More Productive Than Canadians? 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The province’s performance is above average according to the majority of the indicators we analyze, relative to both the rest of Canada and other OECD countries. However, this does not mean that there is no room for improvement. We identify four areas in which improvements would be likely to contribute to productivity growth in British Columbia: the underutilization of the skills of recent immigrants; the poor educational outcomes of Aboriginal people; the below-average production of advanced human capital through graduate training; and the problem of high school non-completion. We provide policy recommendations pertaining to each of these four challenges. Ce rapport propose une évaluation du développement du capital humain en Colombie-Britannique. La performance de la province se situe au-dessus de la moyenne selon la majorité des indicateurs analysés, tant par rapport au reste du Canada qu’aux autres pays de l’OCDE. Cela ne signifie toutefois pas qu’il n’existe aucune marge d’amélioration. Nous cernons quatre domaines où des améliorations seraient susceptibles de contribuer à la croissance de la productivité en Colombie-Britannique : la sous-utilisation des compétences des immigrants récents; les faibles résultats scolaires des Autochtones; la production inférieure à la moyenne de capital humain avancé par la formation aux cycles supérieurs; et le problème du décrochage au secondaire. Nous formulons des recommandations politiques pour chacun de ces quatre défis. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2011-10-1.pdf)