Canadians tradeoff accumulating wealth for increased quality of life

Posted on April 11, 2007
Filed Under General |

There is an extensive report in the March issue of the Canadian Maclean’s magazine that focuses on the Canadian economy versus its Southern neighbor, the United States of America. Canada’s economic growth is seriously lacking that of the U.S. and in the last 25 years, the difference in the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown to $9200 (Canadian) from a mere $3300. Economists believe that such a large gap in GDP (which is expected to increase over the next few years if the government does not take appropriate action) is not good news for the future of Canada’s economy.

Interestingly, the Canadian lifestyle is part of the reason why this gap in the GDP exists. Canadians prefer to take longer vacations from work and work less on a weekly basis when not vacationing. Canadians take nearly 4 weeks of paid vacation every year compared to only 2 weeks for American workers. According to the Maclean’s article, the American workers are afraid of taking longer vacations because they are afraid of losing their jobs while away. Researchers claim that the longer vacations enjoyed by Canadians result in happier workers who are more productive even though they work fewer hours weekly.

Canadians seem content with this lifestyle, i.e. they are not afraid to tradeoff monetary prosperity for their well-being and happiness or in other words quality of life. They make up for the shortfall in salaries by living in smaller houses and driving smaller cars. In fact, the average Canadian house is nearly 22 percent smaller than American homes and Canadian are happy driving compact cars. It is estimated that more than 70,000 Honda Civics were sold in Canada in 2006; their American neighbors preferred the larger Toyota Camry. Of course, considering that the average American waistline continues to expand, it is no surprise that Americans show a preference to larger cars and homes. But of course, they have to work harder to afford living large.

Comments

Leave a Reply




Your Ad Here