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Given these potential negative consequences, it is important to determine how the unanticipated Covid shock affected labour market outcomes of recent immigrants, and whether it had a disproportionately negative effect relative to the Canadian-born, especially for immigrants in the low-level occupations and in the industries that are hard hit by the pandemic. That is the purpose of this analysis and is a main contribution to the literature.

We use the LFS data and a conventional Difference-in-Difference (DiD) equation to estimate the differential effects of the COVID-19 lock-down on recent immigrants’ labour market outcomes including employment, actual hours of work and wages, compared to the comparable Canadian-born.

Our DiD analysis indicates that Covid-19 had a disproportionately adverse effect on the employment of recent immigrants relative to the Canadian-born and this was especially the case in lower-level occupations and in industries hard hit by the pandemic. The effects of Covid on hours worked for those who remained employed were modest as were the differential effects for recent immigrants. Covid was associated with higher wages for recent immigrants who remain employed relative to their Canadian-born counterparts, and this is especially the case for recent immigrants in lower-level occupations and hard-hit industries.

The substantial adverse effect of Covid on the employment of recent immigrants, both absolutely and relative to their Canadian-born counterparts, has important implications for the assimilation of immigrants into the Canadian labour market. The fact that this adverse effect is disproportionately felt by recent immigrants in lower-level occupations has equity implications. The fact that the adverse effect is disproportionately felt by recent immigrants in industries hard-hit by the pandemic highlights the double whammy of being in hard-hit sectors with above-average reductions in their employment rate and having their employment probabilities disproportionately reduced in those sectors.

In addition to recognizing foreign skills, enhancing the skills of recent immigrants can also increase their employability and earnings. Given the growth of the knowledge economy such important skills include core ones in such areas as communication, socio-emotional, digital and basic literacy and numeracy skills, as well as soft skills such as those related to interpersonal relationships, leadership, communication, conflict resolution, teamwork and time management. Assessing the skills of recent immigrants and providing timely and local labour market information (LMI) as well as mentoring, training and information on Canadian workplace cultural norms can also help match the skills of recent immigrants with employer needs.

Disruption in the labour market assimilation of immigrants can inhibit them from earning their living and contributing to tax revenues and lead them to “have-nots” in receipt of transfer payments. Dependency on transfer payments can foster backlashes and the polarization and xenophobia associated with immigrants. Negative labour market experiences for immigrants can contribute to long-lasting downward career mobility and talent waste that can inhibit the ability of Canada to compete for international talent. It can lead to a legacy of longer run even intergenerational negative effects in various dimensions. Clearly this issue merits policy attention.

Our study utilizes DiD analysis to provide causal estimates of the differential impact of Covid-19 on three outcomes: employment, hours and hourly wages. Comparisons are made for recent immigrants relative to comparable Canadian-born persons prior to the pandemic, and the differential effect of the pandemic on recent immigrants relative to the Canadian-born. A main contribution to the literature is that it also does the comparisons in a separate intersectional fashion for individuals who are in lower-level and higher-level occupations as well as in industries that are low-hit and hard-hit by the pandemic.

This paper aims to explore the possible forms and characteristics of an artificial intelligence (AI) leader and discuss the potential applications of AI in political leadership and governance.

A categorization system consisting of three categories – the level of responsibility, the voting system and the bindingness of the AI’s decisions – was developed to better understand the various types of AI leaders. Additionally, to identify the main characteristics of an AI leader, a comprehensive literature review was conducted. The themes from the literature were then categorized and supplemented with additional discussions.

This paper identifies several potential AI leaders, including the AI President, the AI Dictator, the AI Minister and the AI Consultant. The key characteristics of an AI leader were also discussed. The primary strengths of AI lie in their intelligence and rationality, which could potentially lead our societies toward a peaceful and prosperous future. However, a significant drawback of AI is that it will always be limited by the capabilities and intentions of its programmer, whether human or AI.

Understanding the forms and characteristics of AI leaders may help policymakers and decision-makers explore the possibilities of integrating AI into political leadership and governance.

This paper contributes to the emerging field of AI in governance by exploring the forms and characteristics of AI leaders and discussing their potential applications in political leadership.

This paper analyzes the differential experiences of women in the Canadian labour market who hold lower-skilled jobs and have school-age children during two waves of Covid compared with more typical conditions pre-pandemic. The article seeks to test the hypothesis that workers at the intersection of womanhood, motherhood and precarious employment would endure even more disadvantageous labour market outcomes during the Covid pandemic than they did prior to it.

We employ a Gender-Based Plus (GBA+) and intersectionality lens to examine the differential effect of Covid on the effect of the trifecta of being a woman in a lower-skilled job and facing a motherhood penalty from school-age children. We use a Difference-in-Difference framework with Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS) data to examine the differential effect of two waves of Covid on three labour market outcomes: employment, hours worked and hourly wages.

We find that being a woman in a lower-skilled job with school-age children is associated with lower employment, hours worked and wages in normal times compared to males in those same situations. Such women also face the most severe adjustment consequence from the Covid shock, with that adjustment concentrated on the margin of employment and restricted to the First Wave and not the subsequent Omicron Wave.

The paper studies a specific intersectional group, assesses pre-pandemic, peak-pandemic and late-pandemic differences in labour market outcomes and runs separate estimations for different job skill levels. We also study a more comprehensive list of labour market outcomes than most studies of a similar nature.

One prominent force behind sustainable growth is the growth of smart cities. Governments worldwide are beginning to concentrate on the Smart City System (SCS) towards a sustainable future. The construction sector plays a significant role in the development projects for smart cities. Hence, paying attention to research initiatives for smart cities is necessary because of the need for cooperation between the construction industry and SCS in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the SCS on the construction industry in Sri Lanka.

This study used a mixed approach comprising a series of expert interviews and two rounds of a questionnaire survey. Content and statistical analyses were used to analyse and validate the empirical data collected during the study.

The five most significant smart city elements affecting the construction industry were identified: technology and information technology infrastructure, environment, people, economy and governance, along with 15 significant enablers and 17 significant barriers of those smart city elements. Further, 18 significant strategies that can be adopted to overcome the barriers and enhance the enablers of those smart city elements were identified.

This study’s findings reveal that the synergy between the construction industry and the SCS would be a valuable reference for future studies in similar contexts. The construction industry in Sri Lanka will also benefit from the study findings, as the findings would help to improve the link between construction and smart cities. This study significantly benefits the society by revealing cost-effective ways to accelerate construction processes and develop cities sustainably.