A CIRANO Associate Researcher and Fellow since 1999, Christian Belzil is Professor at Paris Polytechnic Institute and ENSAE.

Holding a Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University. His areas of specialization are labour economics, Economics of Education, Micro-econometrics and structural behavioral economics. He studies the dynamics of schooling decisions, the effect of higher education financial aid, the importance of cognitive and non-cognitive skills on life-cycle outcomes, and unemployment insurance and job search behavior. Most of his recent work uses structural microeconometric models.

A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 2004, Brahim Boudarbat is Full Professor in the School of Industrial Relations of the Université de Montréal. He is also Director of the Observatoire de la Francophonie économique de l'Université de Montréal, a Fellow of the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) and a member of the Expert Committee of the Labour Market Information Council.

Holding a Ph.D. in Economics from the Université de Montréal, he is interested in issues related to immigration, post-secondary education, income inequality and working conditions of Canadians. In particular, his research interests and work focus on the integration of immigrants into the labour market in Quebec and Canada, career choices by young Canadians, income distribution, income gaps between men and women, the return on education, overqualification in the job, the use of languages at work and their remuneration in Quebec, the brain drain, indicators of job quality. He is also interested in the education and vocational training systems and youth employment in Morocco.

Brahim Boudarbat is the author of numerous articles and reports on the labour market. He has conducted studies for several organizations, including the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion, Emploi-Québec, the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (Quebec) and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. He also participated in the drafting of the 2016 Arab Human Development Report for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Prior to his current position, Brahim Boudarbat was a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He was also Director of the Data Centre of the Université de Montréal, a member organization of the Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS). From 1991 to 1998, Brahim Boudarbat was responsible for employment policies and the monitoring of the professional integration of graduates within the Ministry of Vocational Training in Morocco.

A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 2009, Marie Connolly is Full Professor in the Department of Economics at the École des sciences de la gestion of the Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG UQAM) and Vice Dean of Research at ESG UQAM. She is also founder and director of the Research Group on Human Capital.

Holding a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University, her research is primarily empirical and touches upon various topics in labor economics, such as social mobility, the formation of human capital, the gender wage gap, subjective well-being, women’s labor force participation and the evaluation of public policy. She is also interested in the economics of popular music, including the resale of concert tickets and the environmental practices of rock bands.

Her work as been published in the Journal of Labor Economics, the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization and the Canadian Journal of Economics, among others.

David D'Arrisso is a Professor at the Université de Montréal.

Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin joined CIRANO in 2000 as a postdoctoral researcher and was appointed President and CEO in 2016, after serving as Vice-President from 2008 to 2016. Since 2011, she has led the CIRANO Barometer project on risk perception in Quebec, which annually collects data on Quebecers’ concerns regarding 47 major societal issues. She is also Head of the CIRANO Research Pole on the Socioeconomic Impacts of Digital Intelligence and Principal Investigator of the Innovation and Digital Transformation research theme.

She is a Full Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, where she also serves as Academic Director of PolyFinances. In addition, she is a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Associate Researcher at the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO).

She holds a PhD in Management Science (specializing in risk management and insurance) from the École normale supérieure de Cachan. Her research focuses on risk management and decision-making in contexts of risk and uncertainty, as well as the design and evaluation of public policies. Her work combines economic analysis, cost-benefit analysis, survey data analysis, and more recently, large-scale unstructured data analytics.

In 2008, she founded the RISQH network, a knowledge-sharing and awareness network dedicated to risk management, patient safety, and quality of care in healthcare institutions. She contributed to the development of the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence.

She serves as Scientific Director of the Measurement Tools, Monitoring and Surveys Division at the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technologies (OBVIA). She is also co-founder of the International Francophone Network on Scientific Advice (RFICS).

At CIRANO, she leads and contributes to several large-scale research initiatives, notably the creation of an economic digital twin of the St. Lawrence–Great Lakes region (GVCdtLab), developed in collaboration with the federal government.

She has published numerous scientific articles, several books, and more than 40 reports for government and other organizations. She has delivered over one hundred conferences and is regularly invited to speak in the media.

Pouya Ebrahimi is Ph.D. Student at HEC Montréal.

A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 1994, Bernard Fortin is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Economics at Université Laval.

Canada Research Chair for from 2001 to 2015, Bernard Fortin has distinguished himself in several subfields of his discipline, including labour economics, economic analysis of social interactions, and health economics.

Professor Fortin has been a visiting scholar at leading universities and research centres such as MIT, Columbia University, Paris School of Economics, Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Aix-Marseille University, Virginia Tech University, Université Lumière Lyon 2, and the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (France). He is also a highly regarded educator who has supervised or co-supervised 80 master’s students, 23 PhD candidates, and 10 postdoctoral fellows.

He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada since 2000.

CIRANO Fellow and Researcher since 2004, Luc Godbout is a full professor in the Department of Taxation at Université de Sherbrooke. He also holds the Research Chair in Taxation and Public Finance at the Université de Sherbrooke.

He holds a PhD in public law from Université Aix-Marseille III, and has a keen interest in comparative taxation. His recent research has focused on the tax structure in determining economic growth, the impact of population aging on public finances, and the financing of public pension plans.

His expertise has led him to advise the Quebec government, both on the Comité d'experts sur l'avenir du système de retraite and, more recently, on the Commission d'examen sur la fiscalité québécoise, which he chaired.

A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 2011, Main Researcher of the theme Skills, Catherine Haeck is Full Professor in the Department of Economics at the École des sciences de la gestion of the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is also director of the CIQSS-UQAM-INRS Laboratory, a visiting researcher at the Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS), a member of the Human Capital Research Group, a member of the Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment and researcher affiliated with the Education Policy Research Initiative.

Holding a Ph.D. in Economics from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, her research focuses on the human capital development of children and youth. She has written about universal childcare, prenatal nutrition programs, parental leave reforms, and school reforms. Her current research focuses on the impact of class size reduction on student outcomes, and also the impacts of universal childcare on household expenditures. She also studies the geographical and temporal evolution of intergenerational mobility in Canada compared to the United States with an aim to better understand the causal relationship between education and mobility.

She has published in several major economic and human capital journals, in addition to having received more than $9M in research grants since 2014 (including SSHRC and FRQSC).

Pierre-Canisius Kamanzi is Professor at the Université de Montréal.

Robert Lacroix holds a bachelor's and master's degree in economics from the University of Montreal and a doctorate from the University of Louvain (Belgium). He was a professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Montreal from 1970 to 2006.  He held various positions at the university, including director of the Department of Economics and director of the Centre for Economic Research and Development (CRDE).  From 1987 to 1993, he served as Dean of the University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and from 1994 to 1998, he was President and CEO and co-founder of CIRANO. Robert Lacroix was Rector of the University of Montreal from June 1998 to May 2005. He was appointed Professor Emeritus of the University of Montreal in May 2006 and first Rector Emeritus of that institution in May 2011. 

Robert Lacroix is the author of numerous books, book chapters, scientific articles, and research reports on labor economics and human resources, as well as on the economics of technical progress and innovation. Two of his books were finalists for the Donner Prize, in 2010 (Le CHUM, une tragédie québécoise, Boréal, Louis Maheu, co-author) and in 2015 (Les grandes universités de recherche, Presses de l’Université de Montréal and Leading Research Universities in a Competitive World, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Louis Maheu, co-author). In 2019, he published Grandeurs et misères de l’université québécoise (The Greatness and Misery of Quebec Universities), Presses de l’Université de Montréal, and in 2023, La sous-scolarisation des hommes et le choix de profession des femmes (The Under-Education of Men and Women’s Career Choices), Presses de l’Université de Montréal, C. Haeck, C. Montmarquette, and R. Tremblay, co-authors. 

He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, an Officer of the National Order of Quebec, an Officer of the Ordre des palmes académiques de France, a Member of the Royal Society of Canada, and a Member of the Académie des Grands Montréalais (Commander of the Order of Montreal). 

In 2001, he received the Outstanding Career Award from the National Policy Research Initiative (Ottawa) and, in 2002, he received the Armand-Frappier Award from the Government of Quebec in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of research administration and promotion. In 2006, he received the Order of Merit from the Association des diplômés de l'Université de Montréal.

He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Lyon 2, McGill University, the University of Western Ontario, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Ottawa.

Robert Lacroix was a member of the board of directors of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (chair 2001-2003), chair of the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities (2003-2005), member of the boards of directors of Polytechnique-Montréal and HEC-Montréal, founding member of the board of directors of the Trudeau Foundation, and member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

A recognized specialist in human resources economics and innovation, Robert Lacroix has been called upon to serve on numerous organizations related to his expertise, notably as Vice-President of the Canadian Economics Association (in 1985); President of the Association des économistes québécois (in 1992); member of the National Statistics Council of Canada; member of the Advisory Committee on Economic Growth of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (from 1989 to 1994); member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (from 1994 to 1998);  member of the Scientific Committee of the Killam Foundation of the Canada Council for the Arts (from 1984 to 1987); Member of the Comité des hommes d’affaires pour la relance économique de Montréal (Committee of Businessmen for the Economic Recovery of Montreal); member of the steering committee of the Centre d’étude sur l’emploi et la technologie (Center for the Study of Employment and Technology) of Emploi-Québec; member of the Advisory Committee on Academic Affairs of the Canadian Bankers Institute; member and chair of the steering committee of the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States (Fulbright Program). In 2005-2006, he was a member of the Expert Panel on the Federal Government's Equalization Program. From 2007 to 2011, he was a member of the Public Service Advisory Committee appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada.

His economic expertise and experience in managing a large organization have led him to serve on the boards of directors of major companies, including Industrial Alliance, CAE, Groupe Jean Coutu and Pomerleau Inc.

A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 2010, Louis Maheu is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Université de Montréal.

Holding a Ph.D. in Sociology from the École pratique des hautes études, he specializes in the analysis of social movements and collective action, as well as in the study of the functioning of university systems, particularly at the graduate level. He has also been interested in establishing measures for evaluating excellence and performance within university programs, institutions of higher learning and scientific production environments.

A Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Université de Montréal from 1970 to 2006 (Assistant 1970-1975, Associate 1975-1981 and Full Professor 1981-2006), he has guided several research missions during his career, both at home and abroad: in France, at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales, and also in Italy, Great Britain and Argentina. He also carried out an extended stay of teaching and conferences in Brazil.

Louis Maheu also held various administrative positions and participated in important committees within the University. He was Director of the Department of Sociology (1981-1984). After serving as Vice-Dean (1992-1996), he also served as Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (1996-2005). He was subsequently elevated to the rank of Vice-Rector for Graduate Studies. In all these positions, he contributed to the dynamic development of graduate studies.

He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Applied Labour Research (1985-1994), Director of the journal Sociologie et sociétés (1987-1992) and President of the Association des doyens des études supérieures du Québec (2003-2005).

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and President of its Academy of Social Sciences since 2005.

Louis Maheu's research has resulted in more than 100 publications, including seven books, seven special thematic issues of scientific journals, and more than 35 articles in chapters of collective works. He was also at the helm of the international journal Sociologie et société for five years. Social Movements and Social Classes: The Future of Collective Action, a book that he edited, is an essential reference in the sociology of social movements.

A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 2018, Philip Merrigan is Full Professor at the Department of Economics at the École des sciences de la gestion of the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Holding a Ph.D. in Economics from Université de Montréal, his research interests are labour economics, econometrics, macroeconomics, family work supply and sports teams.

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A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow from 1994 to 2021, Claude Montmarquette was Emeritus Professor in the Department of Economics at the Université de Montréal.

Holding a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago, he held the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Chair in Experimental Economics at the Université de Montréal and was President and CEO of CIRANO for more than seven years.

Over the course of his career, Professor Montmarquette has been a visiting professor at several universities. He has chaired and participated in numerous committees for the Government of Quebec and has served on many others, both nationally and internationally. He was an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1998) and a Member of the Order of Canada in 2013. He also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal the same year. Claude Montmarquette received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from McGill University in 2013. In 2016, he was appointed Commander of the Order of Montreal. In 2019, he was named an Officer of the Ordre National du Québec and received the Gérard Parizeau Prize for his work in educational economics.

He is the author or editor of 11 books, 90 scientific articles, and more than 60 public policy papers.

A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 1994, Michel Poitevin is Full Professor in the Department of Economics at the Université de Montréal.

Holding a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of British Columbia, he is a specialist in information economics, incentives and public policy.

Michel Poitevin has conducted recent research on the optimal structure of a federation in the presence of local public goods. He is interested in optimal taxation in the presence of public goods in a context of fiscal competition between states or regions. He has also worked on the optimal determination of tuition fees for Quebec universities.

A corporate director and international consultant, Louise Roy is currently Chair of the Board and a Visiting Fellow at CIRANO.

Louise Roy has held́ senior management positions in the urban transportation, air transportation and communications industries. She waś CEO of the Société de transport de Montréal (1985-1992), Executive Vice President for the Americas of Air France at its Paris headquarters (1994-1997), CEO of Telemedia Communications Inc. (1997-2000) and Executive Vice President of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) (2000-2003).

Since September 2003, Ms. Roy has been a Visiting Fellow at CIRANO and, since 2012, she has chaired the Board of Directors of this Center for Applied Research in Public Policy. She was Chancellor and Chair of the Board of the University of Montreal from 2008 to 2018 and was named Chancellor Emeritus.

During her career, she has also served as a director of Power Financial Corporation and Intact Financial Corporation, the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), Montreal International, Provigo Inc, Laurentian Bank of Canada, Videotron Ltd. and Domtar Corporation. She has chaired the Board of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, a cultural granting organization. Ms. Roy is currently a director of the Opéra de Montréal, the Montreal International Music Competition Foundation (MIMC) and the Montreal Airport.

Maurice Tardif is Professor at the Université de Montréal.