Catching up and Falling Behind: The Performance of Provincial GDP Per Capita from 1990 to 2003

This paper compares gross domestic product (GDP) per capita across Canadian provinces for the period 1990 to 2003. It starts by examining relative GDP per capita measured in current dollars across provinces and over time. In the second section, growth in nominal dollar GDP is broken down into a price and a volume component to determine whether growth over the period came from a higher volume of real output or higher prices received for the products being produced. In the third section, the relationship between increases in the volume component (real GDP per capita) and changes in productivity or in labour market conditions (hours worked per employee and the proportion of the working age population employed) is explored.Business performance and ownership, Economic accounts, Gross domestic product, Regional and urban profiles