HUMAN-CAPITAL CONTENT OF CANADIAN IMMIGRANTS - 1967-1987

The central aim of this paper is to assess the effects of changing Canadian immigration policies circa 1967-1987 on the human capital flows from developed and less developed countries to Canada. Calculations of various replacement cost concepts for the human capital flows are made for three major policy periods; 1967-1973,1974-1979 and 1979-1987. In sum, total human capital flows from all countries declined over the policy periods. Developed countries sent the majority (66%) of this declining total over the period. However, tests do not support the hypothesis that the average educational content of highly trained immigrants has declined. Rather, the large decline in human capital flows is a result of changing immigration policies which restricted the total flow of skilled immigrants and favoured other entry classes.