Research has shown a strong link between the acquisition of human capital and success in the labour market as measured through employment income. While this relationship has been demonstrated for the non-Indigenous population, it is not clear whether it necessarily holds true for the Indigenous peoples of Canada. This paper examines the returns to education (as a component of human capital) for the three Indigenous groups in Canada—First Nations, Métis and Inuit. The results of multivariate regression models constructed using data from the 2011 National Household Survey and the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey show that the returns to post-secondary education for Indigenous peoples are significantly positive and, in some instances, comparable to those for the non-Indigenous population.

研究表明，通过就业收入衡量，人力资本的获得与劳动力市场的成功之间有着密切的联系。虽然这种关系已在非原住民中得到证实，但尚不清楚它是否一定适用于加拿大原住民。本文考察了加拿大三个原住民群体——第一民族、梅蒂斯人和因纽特人的教育回报（作为人力资本的一个组成部分）。使用 2011 年全国住户调查和 2012 年原住民调查数据构建的多元回归模型的结果表明，原住民接受高等教育的回报显着为正，在某些情况下，与非原住民的回报相当人口。