BMO Public Lecture Series

Lectures are presented by some of the top minds and scholars in Economics, with the aim of engaging the general public on issues that pertain to economics but have a direct impact on their daily lives.

The BMO Public Lecture series is an annual event that is hosted by SFU's Department of Economics in partnership with SFU Public Square and SFU Alumni Relations, and the generous sponsorship of the David and Cecilia Ting Endowment for Education and Public Responsibility and BMO Bank of Montreal.

The David and Cecilia Ting 2022 BMO Public Lecture

The Importance of a Helping Hand

November 10, 2022
6:30 — 8:00 pm
Harbour centre

Abstract

Advisors play an important role in assisting people to make better decisions in regards to taxes (accountants), investments (financial planners), and home purchases (real estate agents). This lecture discusses the similarly powerful role advisors can play around helping children learn.

Examples presented include home visits by nurses to new parents, tutoring in reading and math, coaching, and postsecondary application and job-search assistance. These kinds of supports work best when advice is individualized, provided face-to-face, and by a trustworthy source. Thus, social connection by experienced advisors is key for successful education policy and labour market success.

Dr. Philip Oreopoulos is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, at Berkeley and his M.A. from the University of British Columbia. He is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and Research Fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. He has held a previous visiting appointment at Harvard and the Massachussets Institute of Technology and is editor at the Journal of Labour Economics.

Dr. Oreopoulos' current work focuses on education policy, especially the application of behavioural economics to education and child development. He often examines this field by initiating and implementing large-scale field experiments, with the goal of producing convincing evidence for public policy decisions.