Socio-economic Conference 2008

The Statistics Canada Socio-economic Conference provides an annual forum for empirical research focusing on issues of concern in Canadian public policy. The conference targets studies discussing:

• emerging economic trends and their underlying causes;
• the ability of various groups to participate in society and the
  economy.

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to: innovation; productivity; international trade; agriculture; environment-economy linkages; natural resources and energy; transportation; industrial development; urban and rural development; health; education; families; income and wealth and their distribution; immigration; and labour markets.

The Conference focuses on studies directly relevant to Canada, while at the same time welcoming comparative international studies that shed light on Canadian public policy issues. It places a premium on empirical studies making innovative use of Canadian data.

The Socio-Economic Conference 2008 will include several plenary sessions and state of the art lectures featuring invited guest speakers who are leading authorities in their fields. Approximately 100 contributed papers, contributed sessions or posters will be presented. With over 150 papers submitted, the 2008 Conference should provide high quality insights on key social and economic issues in Canada.

As in past years, we continue to broaden the framework of the conference by actively encouraging the participation of people from outside Statistics Canada. Last year, we attracted participants from other federal government departments, provincial ministries, the private and academic sectors, and foreign and international organizations.