Competitiveness is treated as the ability to produce and distribute goods and services in the international economy in a fashion that provides a rising standard of living. Competitiveness in agriculture is affected by a wide variety of factors interacting throughout the economies of Canada and other countries around the world. From a commodity standpoint, Canada's competitive position would appear to be high for wheat and pork, moderate for feedgrains. oilseeds and beef, low for dairy and poultry, and mixed (some moderate to high and some low) for fruits and vegetables. We are likely to maintain our competitiveness over time primarily through adjustments in exchange rates, changes in productivity in production and marketing, and alterations in returns to farmer‐provided resources and in land values. In addition. domestic and foreign support policies may affect the salability of our products, although subsidies may not reflect competitiveness from a true cost standpoint. La compétitivité peut se définir comme I'aptitude à produire et a distribuer biens et services sur les marchés internationaux de faqon à accroitre son niveau de vie. En agriculture, la compétitivité dépend de I'interaction d'une grande variété de facteurs au sein de l'économie du Canada autant que de celle des autres pays du monde. Envisagée par catégories de produits primaires, la compétitivite du Canada semblerait élevée pour le ble et pour le porc. moderee pour les cereales fourrageres. les oleagineux et le boeuf, faible pour les produits laitiers et la volaille et variable (parfois moderee a elevee et parfois faible) pour les fruits et les legumes. Nous parviendrons vraisemblablement a maintenir notre compétitivite, a I'avenir. principalement en ajustant les taux de change. notre productivite et notre strategie de commercialisation. et en modifiant les revenus tires des ressources fournies par les agri‐culteurs ainsi que la valeur des terres apricoles. En outre. la situation concurrentielle de nos produits wr les marches peut dépendre des politiques interieures et étrangères de soutien. mème si du strict point de vue des coûts. les subventions ne son peut‐être pas un reflet de la competétivilé.

This paper examines the economic impact of swine research undertaken by Agriculture Canada from 1968 to 1984. The economic surplus approach is used to estimate the returns to this research and to determine the distribution of benefits between producers and consumers. The ex ante and ex post approaches to measuring changes in producer surplus are compared. The impact of the marginal excess burden of taxes on measures of net benefits from research is examined. The internal rate of return to expenditures on swine research was found to be between 45 percent and 50 percent at the margin. About 85 percent of the benefits accrued to Canadian hog producers. Swine research expenditures in the United States were found to have a statistically significant effect on Canadian hog production.

Current human resources management policies on Ontario swine farms were evaluated in terms of attracting, keeping, and motivating labor. A survey of swine farm employers and employees indicated that swine farm employees had lower wages, fewer benefits, and worked longer hours than their nonagricultural counterparts. Female employees were paid less than male employees even though there was no difference in other employment or educational characteristics. Employers indicated difficulty attracting employees, but their employee turnover rate was lower than in nonagricultural industries. No relationships were found between employer/farm characteristics and motivation proxies.Labor use in agriculture is being affected by two major trends. The first is a change in the composition of agricultural labor. The amount of labor in agriculture is decreasing, but as farms become fewer in number and larger in size, the likelihood of a farm employing full-time, permanent labor increases. For example, hired labor was 30% of total Canadian agricultural labor in 1983, up from 18% in 1961.'The second trend is an increasing shortage of skilled agricultural labor willing

The economic returns to Canadian federal broiler chicken research between 1968 and 1984 were estimated using the economic surplus approach. The impact of distortions in the product market and of the excess burden of taxes on the net benefits of research and the distribution of gross benefits between producers and consumers were assessed. Rates of return to research investments at the margin over this period were estimated to be between 52% and 60%. All of the benefits of this research have accrued to consumers, and producers have actually been made worse off by broiler research under the existing regime of supply management.

The net economic benefits of Canadian federal beef cattle research programs were estimated using the economic surplus approach. The internal rate of return to research expenditure from 1968 to 1984 was found to be 63% at the margin, indicating substantia] underinvestment in technological change. Rates of return indicative of underinvestment were found even when an adjustment was made to research costs to reflect the marginal excess burden of taxation. Most of the benefits of beef cattle research conducted during this time period accrued to Canadian beef producers. Les bénéfices économiques nets des programmes de recherche fédéraux Canadiens sur le boeuf sont estimés en utilisant ľapproche du surplus économique. Le taux interne de rendement des défenses de recherche effectuées de 1968 à 1984 est établi à 63%, indiquant un sous‐investissement substantiel dans le changement technologique. Même en incluant la perte de bien‐être due à ľimposition ďune taxe, ľétude montre un sous‐investissement dans la recherche. La plupart des bénéfices de la recherche sur le boeuf effectuée durant cette période ont profité aux producteurs agricoles.