Research
Our Faculty
Faculty members in the Department of Economics are recognized for their commitment to both their teaching and research excellence. Faculty research is funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), National Science Foundation (NSF) and other national and international sources.
Faculty members have won external awards for their excellence in both research (Canadian Economics Association’s Vanderkamp Prize, C.A. Curtis Prize – Queen’s University) and teaching (Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance). In addition, our faculty are regularly cited by national media outlets on current economic issues.
If you are a graduate student looking for a supervisor, feel free to browse our Faculty Research Specializations page.
Research Facilities and Collaborations
The Department of Economics is the home of the Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis (LCERPA) – an association of economists based at the Lazaridis School. LCERPA aims to support and promote high quality economic research.
Our economics faculty are internationally recognized for their research, and have several collaborations with other colleagues regionally, in Canada and abroad, including the Balsillie School of International Affairs, the Lazaridis Institute for the Management of Technology Enterprises, and the MS2Discovery Interdisciplinary Research Institute.
Research Strengths
The focus of our research is split between both economic policy and social policy.
Our research on economic policy looks at themes such as economic globalization, economic growth, fiscal policy, international trade and finance, foreign direct investment and monetary policy. Research on economic policy has impact through informing the central banks’ decision on interest rate targets, or governments on tax policy and tariffs.
This is distinct from our research on social policy, which looks at themes such as education, environment, health and health care, labour, pay equity, pensions and political economy. Research on social policy has impact through informing such things as how to improve people’s health by discouraging unhealthy behaviours, how to effectively reduce the gender wage gap, or how markets can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Research Centres
- Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis: For information, contact Jeff Chan.
- MS2Discovery Interdisciplinary Research Institute: For information, contact Maria Gallego.
- Balsillie School of International Affairs