Department of Economics (University of Toronto)

Department of Economics (University of Toronto)
Name	Department of Economics
Parent	University of Toronto
Established	1900s
Type	Academic department
City	Toronto
Province	Ontario
Country	Canada

Contents

Department of Economics (University of Toronto) is the economics department of the University of Toronto, a major Canadian research university located in Toronto. The department is situated within the St. George Campus and is associated with numerous research institutes and professional schools, interacting with institutions such as the Rotman School of Management, the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. It has contributed to debates involving figures and entities like John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, Paul Krugman, Lawrence Summers, and Amartya Sen through research, teaching, and policy engagement.

History

The department traces roots to early 20th-century teaching at the University of Toronto alongside contemporaries such as the London School of Economics, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Harvard University, and Yale University. Over the decades it recruited scholars influenced by schools associated with Alfred Marshall, Vilfredo Pareto, and Kenneth Arrow while interacting with policy institutions like the Bank of Canada, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. During the postwar expansion, links developed with investigators connected to John R. Commons, Frank Knight, Friedrich Hayek, Paul Samuelson, and Robert Solow, shaping graduate curricula and research agendas.

Undergraduate offerings coordinate with programs such as the Faculty of Arts and Science major and specialist streams, cross-listed with departments like Political Science (University of Toronto), Sociology (University of Toronto), Statistics (University of Toronto), and the Rotman School of Management. Graduate programs include a PhD that parallels doctoral programs at Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and a Master of Arts comparable to offerings at London School of Economics and University of California, Berkeley. Professional training connects to external certification boards such as the Chartered Financial Analyst program and placement pipelines into organizations like the Bank of Canada, Department of Finance (Canada), Statistics Canada, and multinational firms including Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company.

Faculty research spans fields linked to scholars like Kenneth Arrow, Gary Becker, Robert Lucas Jr., and Eugene Fama, covering microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, development economics, and public economics. The department hosts professors and researchers associated with awards such as the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, the John Bates Clark Medal, and the Frisch Medal, and engages with journals including Econometrica, The American Economic Review, The Journal of Political Economy, and The Quarterly Journal of Economics. Collaborative work extends to partnerships with entities like the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

The department affiliates with research units such as the University of Toronto Scarborough Research Centre, the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the Rotman Institute for Gender and the Economy (collaborative), and participating centers with ties to the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, the Canadian Labour Congress research programs, and international networks like the International Growth Centre and the World Bank Research Group. It also collaborates with policy-oriented organizations such as the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Conference Board of Canada, and foundations like the Rockefeller Foundation and the Banting and Best Institute in interdisciplinary projects.

Located primarily on the St. George Campus in downtown Toronto, department offices and classrooms are housed in buildings proximate to the Robarts Library, the UTSC satellite facilities, and research hubs near the MaRS Discovery District and the Discovery District (Toronto). Computer labs support software used widely at institutions like Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology for econometrics and data analysis, and the department accesses data archives comparable to those held by Statistics Canada, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the European Central Bank for empirical work.

Students engage with organizations including the University of Toronto Economics Student Union, the Arts and Science Students' Union, and discipline-specific journals and reading groups modeled on groups at Harvard University and Yale University. Career services coordinate with employers like the Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, Deloitte, and international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Student activities feature seminar series, workshops, and collaborations with visiting scholars from Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, and London School of Economics.

Alumni have included economists and policymakers who participated in institutions such as the Bank of Canada, the Department of Finance (Canada), Statistics Canada, and global organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Graduates have pursued academic careers at universities like Yale University, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, London School of Economics, and MIT, and private sector roles at firms such as Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company. The department's research has influenced policy discussions involving figures and reports from the Trudeau government (Canada), the Chrétien government, and international commissions such as panels convened by the United Nations and the G20.

Category:University of Toronto Category:Economics departments