Alexander Jenkins completed his undergraduate studies in economics and commerce at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, where he graduated with an Honours B.A. in 1968. After completing a statutory three-year period of service as an officer in the Canadian Forces, he resumed his studies in economics at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, completing the M.A. degree in 1972 and the Ph.D. degree in 1977 with areas of specialization in industrial and labour economics.
After lecturing in economics during 1974-75 at Huron College in London, Ontario, Mr. Jenkins took a position as Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Alberta. He was promoted to his current rank of Associate Professor of Economics in 1980. Dr. Jenkins has since pursued a number of research endeavours including studies of the hospital, telecommunications and real estate brokerage industries and the process of wage formation in the construction sector, with papers appearing in Applied Economics, Construction Management and Economics, and the Journal of Economics. He has also acted as a consultant to the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Esso Resources, the Construction Labour Relations Association (Alberta), local legal practitioners and other agencies.
Currently Dr. Jenkins teaches courses in industrial and labour economics at the University of Alberta and is involved in consultancy with the Correctional Service of Canada. He is also examining the effects of Canadian competition policy on the service sector and is about to begin a study of the brokerage function in the Canadian economy.