PhD in Economics Program Reaches 50 Graduates

Following the graduation of Dr. Nick Manuel in 2020, UoG/Lang’s PhD program in Economics reached 50 graduates. Dr. Manuel recently accepted a position as Assistant Professor at Saint Mary's University in Halifax. In that his academic career will begin in The Maritimes, he is similar to our program’s first graduate – Anastasia Lintner, who following her graduation in 1995 accepted a position as Assistant Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland. At the end of 2021 our graduation count has reach 54. Initial placement of graduates include 35 in academic positions, 12 in government and research centres, and 7 in the private sector. Most of our PhD students have remained active researchers following graduation. In fact, based on the cumulative research output of our past graduates, RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) ranks our PhD Economics program well within the top 5% of graduate programs in economics worldwide, and 6th in Canada over the last 10 years. 

The PhD program offered by the Department of Economics and Finance (DEF) was started in 1990 as a joint program in Resource and Environmental Economics with the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE). However, in 2002 DEF began offering a stand-alone PhD in Economics program. Over time the program has evolved with additional field specializations. In fact, DEF’s 50+ program graduates have field specializations encompassing most areas of economics and finance. Detailed information about our graduates can be found by visiting on our PhD Thesis and Job Placements webpage, but here is a sample representing some of our graduation milestones:

#54 (most recent) Nikos Fatouros (PhD 2021)
Thesis Title: Essays in Energy, Climate Change and the Environment 
Placement: Lecturer in Economics (Tenure Track), Department of Economics, University of Birmingham, Dubai 

#50 Nick Manuel (PhD 2020)
Thesis Title: Three Essays on Skills in the Labour Market 
Placement: Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Department of Economics, Saint Mary's University, Halifax

#40 Dong Meng (Raymond) Ren (PhD 2016)
Thesis Title: Essays in Asset Pricing and Financial Econometrics
Placement: Assistant Professor, The Center for Economic Research Shan Dong University
Current Position: Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Shannon School of Business, Cape Breton University

#30 Xiaofeng (Penny) Li (PhD 2011)
Thesis Title: Essays on Productivity Analysis in the Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Industries (Abstract)
Placement: Assistant Professor, International School of Economics and Management, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing, China
Current: Associate Professor, International School of Economics and Management, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing, China

#20 Burc Kayahan (PhD 2007)
Thesis Title: Empirical Applications of the Local Likelihood Method (Abstract)
Placement: Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Department of Economics, Acadia University
Current Position: Associate Professor and Department Head, Department of Economics, Acadia University

#10 Mark Raymond (PhD 2001)
Thesis Title: Three Essays on Regulatory Issues in Environmental Economics (Abstract)
Placement: Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), School of the Environment, St. Mary’s University 
Current Position: Department Chair, Economics, Saint Mary's University

#1 Anastasia Lintner  (PhD 1995)
Thesis Title: Evaluating control instruments for improving diffuse source water quality
Placement: Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Memorial University of Newfoundland
Recent Positions: Principal at Lintner Law
Current Positions: Special Projects Coordinator for Canadian Environmental Law Association; Adjunct Professor, Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen's University