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Re-scheduled! 2026 Backpacks to Briefcases: Put Your Economics Degree to Work!

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Three figures crossing a bridgeNEW DATE: That snow day didn’t hold us back! Get the new details for Backpacks to Briefcases here!

Are you graduating from the University of Toronto in 2026? If you’re about to finish your undergraduate degree with an economics component, you’ll want to register for Backpacks to Briefcases on 26 February 2026 from 5:30 to 8PM at Max Gluskin House (EconHQ) at 150 St. George Street.

Guests will hear from a panel of 3 alumni and moderator Professor Tyler Paul who will discuss how they put their economics degrees to work in industries like finance, tech, consulting and AI.  REGISTER HERE. [Read more…]

K.R.L. Seminar Series Part 2: 4PM on 6 Feb 2026

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Crowd pictures of attendees and presenters at the Khazra Research Lab seminar series, part 1
The next segment of the KRL Seminar Series is Friday, Feb 6 at 4PM

The second installment of the Khazra Research Lab (K.R.L.) Seminar Series is this Friday at 4PM (not 4:10!). Join us in the lounge at Max Gluskin House (EconHQ) where you’ll get to hear the two newest associates of Professor Nazanin Khazra‘s lab, Akshat Oza and Phuong Anh Dang, share in giving the research presentations.

Students affiliated with the K.R.L. are prepared to act as research assistants through hands-on work.

“My personal goal is to train them and give them real research tasks rather than asking them to do dirty data cleaning work or things that don’t benefit them,” said Professor Nazanin Khazra, founder of the lab. “They get to experience the whole process and be a partner.” [Read more…]

New Faces 2026: Professor Robert Clark

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Portrait of Professor Robert Clark
Professor Robert Clark

Professor Robert Clark joined the Department of Economics, University of Toronto on 1 January, 2026. Formerly of Queen’s University, Professor Clark chose to join the department for the opportunity to collaborate with its strong community of economists working in industrial organization (I/O).

“I was very excited to join the group here. U of T is a great university, and the department is the best in the country,” Clark said. In my field, we’re particularly strong, so I was excited to join the IO group here.”

Clark’s splits his research work between antitrust issues and market competition in the financial sector. His recent work spans topics that are rooted in the examination of Canadian productivity issues and firm collusion in consumer spending. [Read more…]

Research Alert: Understanding Labour Conditions, Testing Policies in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

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Portrait of Professor Kory Kroft
Professor Kory Kroft

The Temporary Foreign Workers Program has always provoked questions about wages for domestic workers and the rights of foreign workers. In 2002, the government added a stream to the program that permitted employers of “low-skilled workers” to start recruiting abroad. Upon arrival in Canada, these workers’ visas – like those admitted under some other streams — were tied to one employer and making a change to their employment circumstances presented bureaucratic difficulties for all concerned.

Media critiques of the program ranged from fears of worker exploitation to wage suppression in the labour market. In a new working paper published by the National Bureau for Economics Research, labour economist Professor Kory Kroft of the Department of Economics and his co-authors (Isaac Norwich and Matthew J. Notowidigdo of the University of Chicago and Stephen Tino of TMU) studied one aspect of the program to determine how workers with closed permits fared by comparing those who gained permanent residency (PR) status earlier to those who gained it later. [Read more…]

Studying AI Safety Through Student Collaboration: Economics Undergrad Joseph Kostousov

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Portrait of economics undergraduate Student Joseph Kostousov
Undergraduate student Joseph Kostousov

 Joseph Kostousov isn’t worried about AI chat bots. Instead, the second-year Economics Specialist is investigating the weaponization of autonomous artificial intelligence, and other catastrophic risks associated with loss-of-control. He founded the Toronto AI Safety Initiative (TAISI) to investigate the issue further at the start of the 2025-26 year.

“I learned about the AI safety problem a bit in my last year of high school, and I thought, this is pretty bad. This is coming a lot sooner than we think,” the St. Micheal’s College student explained. “The future could be a cool place if we get this right, but if we don’t, some AI experts, including Geoffrey Hinton, are predicting a 10 to 20% chance of human extinction within the next three decades. It just felt like an urgent issue, and it’s kind of neglected.”

[Read more…]

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