Catching up and falling behind

Changes in nominal GDP per capita are caused both by changes in the relative growth rates of the volume of output and of the relative growth of the prices received for the products of different provinces. [...] In the period 1990-1997, Saskatchewan and Alberta have the highest growth in GDP per capita and this growth comes primarily from the growth in real output, though the growth in the prices received for the output of Saskatchewan was among the highest in Canada. [...] The relatively high growth in real GDP per capita experienced by the Atlantic Provinces in the 1997-2003 period means that these provinces started to close the gap with the national level of GDP per capita. [...] In the first period, Saskatchewan and Alberta have the highest growth in GDP per capita and this growth comes mainly from the growth in real output, though the growth in the prices received for the output of these two provinces was among the highest in Canada. [...] In light of the large effect of small differences in growth rates, the potential impact of large rate differences on growth in GDP per capita is remarkable, giving the provinces with higher growth rates the opportunity to close or open the gap between their GDP per capita and the national average.