News, People, Projects & Events

Everything Economics at the University of Toronto

Brasseur Awarded FRQ Doctoral Research Scholarship

By

Portrait of Jonathan Brasseur
Jonathan Brasseur

PhD student Jonathan Brasseur has been awarded a Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) Doctoral Research Scholarship. The award carries an annual stipend of $25,000 for up to 4 years of graduate studies. Awarded by the Province of Québec, the FRQ supports in-depth research in the fields of health, natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and the arts. Brasseur works in the fields of economic development and macroeconomics, with a focus on resource misallocation and an interest in political economy.

“Receiving the FRQ scholarship is a deep honour, made all the more meaningful by coming from my home province,” said Brasseur. “It allows me to devote myself fully to research that I hope will contribute to a better understanding of how institutions shape productivity and development, and to better policy.”

[Read more…]

Discovering his Research Priorities: Graduand Zhengqi Chen

By

 

Portrait of Zhengqi Chen
Zhengqi Chen

Zhengqi Chen started out as a student of Rotman Commerce. After he realized the vast difference between the disciplines of economics and finance early on in his studies, Chen changed his degree plans. The St. Michael’s College student will graduate in June with a Specialist in Financial Economics degree from the Department of Economics plans to pursue a PhD.

“At U of T, economics focuses much more on research and how economists think, even at the undergraduate level,” Chen remembered. “I found that I enjoyed doing research instead of internships, even though I had done internships before.”

Making program changes is a common occurrence among undergraduate students. The independence that comes with university entry triggers greater self-awareness and exposure to new ideas and thought traditions often leads to a reconsideration of future goals. This is the well-known path to maturation that post-secondary education is meant to encourage. The need for experienced advice and administrative support, however, is still a necessity for most young people. For Chen, that meant reaching out to Sally Wong, Undergraduate Administrator at the Department of Economics. [Read more…]

Proceedings of the 6th Annual Tech Econference

By

The Department of Economics hosted the Sixth Annual Tech Econference on May 11, 2026.

Portrait of Nazanin Khazra
Nazanin Khazra

The online conference featured nine presentations based on papers submitted during the fall 2025 and winter 2026 terms. Founded by Professor Nazanin Khazra, the conference participants engaged in a series of workshops prior to presenting their work to ensure a smooth delivery of their research results. The nine presentation papers were selected from a submission pool of 60 by Professor Abdollah Farhoodi. Papers presented were written for ECO225, ECO340, ECO475, and ECO499.

“What we saw was more than just presentations,” Professor Khazra told the student presenters. “It was your curiosity, your effort, and your growth. Every year, this conference reminds us of what you are capable of. I’m very inspired, and I hope all of our attendees were as inspired as well.”

Associate Chair of Undergraduate Programs, Professor Michael Baker, New College Principal, Professor of Economics Robert Gazzale, and Professor Courtney Ward acted as the judging panel. While Professor Ettore Damiano, Chair of the Department of Economics, welcomed both participants and audience members. [Read more…]

Where Research and Storytelling Meet: Graduand Maeve Ellis

By

 

Portrait of Maeve Ellis
Maeve Ellis

Maeve Ellis was interested in journalism long before she started as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto. Instead of starting a program in journalism once she left high school, the class of 2026 graduand chose a pair of Faculty of Arts and Sciences majors that would prepare her for the contemporary newsroom.

“I chose economics and history because I wanted to understand how the world works,” Ellis said in a recent interview. “Economics taught me how to analyze information and data, and history taught me how to read texts critically and analyze source material. Together, they gave me a really strong foundation for research and storytelling.”

In a world where the term ‘evidence-based’ is often just a catch phrase, Ellis knows exactly what it means and has already started applying to her trade. Three years on the staff of the Varsity, combined with an internship at the Investigative Journalism Foundation gave Ellis an audience for sharing data-driven work that centres what is factual, methodologically sound and proven.

“I’ve written several articles that were built entirely on the data analysis skills I learned in U of T economics courses,” she said. For one piece, I analyzed City of Toronto data on waterfowl counts at beaches and found a significant decline in bird populations. The process involved doing the analysis myself and then speaking to experts to verify it, which is very similar to what we do in investigative journalism.” [Read more…]

The Good Grandson: MA Graduand Alexis Lu

By

Portrait of Alexis Lu
Alexis Lu

When Fuyan Liang turns 82, Alexis Lu will take extra joy in the occasion. Liang’s family has two reasons to celebrate this spring. Six months ago, the octogenarian was fighting for her life. Lu, her eldest grandson, was struggling to keep up with the MA in Economics program in Toronto while staying by her side in China. While Liang’s medical team did their job, an informal team of Department of Economics members assembled to ensure Lu could both do his academic work and stay with his grandmother.

“During the winter break, I heard from my family that my grandma was having very serious emergency medical issues,” Lu explained. “She had several surgeries during that period. I couldn’t leave the country to get back to U of T for fear it was my last chance to be with my grandma.”

[Read more…]

Inquiries

Department of Economics
University of Toronto
Max Gluskin House
150 St George Street
Toronto ON  M5S 3G7
(416) 978-4622

People

Faculty
Staff

About the Department

Overview
Follow us on Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Study

MA and PhD
Master of Financial Economics
Undergraduate

#0a655f