Low literacy rates holding back P.E.I. development, says economist

P.E.I. could improve its economy if it improved its literacy rate, according to economist Elizabeth Beale.

Elizabeth Beale, the recently retired president and CEO of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, told CBC News there is a strong connection between illiteracy rates and economic growth. Beale is giving the address at the P.E.I. Literacy Alliance's 25th AGM.

The Alliance says 43 per cent of working age Islanders lack essential reading and writing skills, putting P.E.I. in the middle of the pack nationally.

Beale said the Island's low literacy rate is connected with the province's demographics.

"It's very much an issue associated with an older population. You know we have a rapidly aging population, and literacy levels tend to fall as individuals get older," she said.

Little federal support for literacy

A better trained and more literate workforce can adapt more quickly to the development of new industries and jobs, and bring in increased earnings, Beale said, but Canada is not doing a good job of developing a literate population.

"We have no or very limited federal programs that are there to support provinces, and it's tended to make our initiatives on this front really substandard compared to a lot of countries," she said.

Beale said a recent study shows a one-per-cent-increase in literacy levels across Canada would add about $32 billion to the economy.