Vancouver School of Economics at UBC
6000 Iona Drive V6T 1L4 Vancouver, BC, Canada

A new working paper by our faculty focuses on COVID-19 & the economic importance of K-12 schooling. The researchers argue the education system's size & centrality are critical to the overall economy. Read it here: https://www.nber.org/papers/w28200

Finals are officially over! Congratulations to everyone on completing their exams, enjoy your well-deserved winter break

Bachelor of International Economics alumnus Kaan Yolsever continues to explore his passion for economics & data research as a master’s student in statistical sciences at the University of Oxford. https://economics.ubc.ca/bie-gradua//kaan-yolsever-bie-19/

For students pursuing doctoral studies, the choice of what school to apply to can be influenced by program outcomes. Amedeus D’Souza, a fourth-year Honours student at the Vancouver School of Economics, has developed a Chrome extension to help students make such a decision. More here: http://bit.ly/Mapinator

Manika Marwah graduated from the Bachleor of International Economics program last spring. Her BIE degree has taken her to Seoul, South Korea, where she works remotely for a global market intelligence firm. Read more here: https://bit.ly/BIEMarwah

A big congratulations to our very own Prof. Emerita Margaret Slade, named one of 46 new Fellows to The Econometric Society, one of the most prestigious groups in economics. Slade is the sole new Fellow from a Canadian institution. https://intouch.designbrooklyn.com/t/r-D439594CC4C763C72540

UBC students, faculty, staff and visitors will be required to wear non-medical masks, when indoors on our campuses.

Prof. Claudio Ferraz’s research on corrupt politicians in Brazil is cited & explored in a new policy insight from the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab. https://www.povertyactionlab.org//increasing-accountabilit

Fourth year VSE student Vibhuti W. developed newfound admiration for our UBC IT teams, working collaboratively to turn this year’s Imagine Pep Rally into a virtual experience. Find out what he hopes students will expect on the first day of classes: https://bit.ly/2EYA32e

To better understand Canada's path to economic recovery, UBC researchers have documented the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market. Read their full paper in a special issue of Canadian Public Policy here: https://bit.ly/2C8NZFJ

VSE Prof. Henry Siu spoke with The Economist about the effect of advances in robotics & artificial intelligence on the labour market (subscription). https://www.economist.com//the-fear-of-robots-displacing-w

"The experts agree a 2nd wave of COVID-19 IS coming. While on that it seems there is no question, one question remains: when it comes to keeping women & girls safe, will we be ready?": VSE Prof. Nisha Malhotra in new Women's Health Research Cluster blog post. https://womenshealthresearch.ubc.ca/violence-against-women-

VSE graduate, Namomba Shaputu, BA’2020, is a part of the first graduating class since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Learn about Namomba’s experience looking for her first job post-graduation and how she addresses career ambiguity. https://www.alumni.ubc.ca/20/profiles/namomba-shaputu-ba20/

While the economic effect of some containment policies is hard to evaluate immediately, the effect of mask policies is clear and could be gauged from a simple calculation: 40,000 saved lives, in April and May, times the statistical value of life, e.g. $5 million, translates to a $200 billion economic impact an order of magnitude bigger than the cost of implementing the universal mask policy. https://voxeu.org//mask-mandates-reduced-spread-covid-19-u