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The Research Group on Human Capital will hold its eighth workshop on Friday, September 18, 2026, at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Multiple academic researchers from the social sciences will present recent work. The presentations primarily feature empirical research using microeconometric models, with a particular emphasis on questions of identification of causal effects. The workshop is intended to promote discussion and exchanges on the theme of Indigenous socioeconomic wellbeing. The workshop is open not only to academics (professors, researchers, graduate students), but also to administrators and policymakers as well as to officials from governmental institutions with an interest in the topic.

July 2026 – Frédéric Pitz, a master’s graduate in economics from ESG UQAM, submitted his thesis last April, titled “The Impact of Cannabis Legalization on Drug Use and Overdoses in Canada, in the Context of the Opioid Crisis.” Using quasi-experimental methods (difference-in-differences, event study, and synthetic difference-in-differences) to compare Canada with U.S. states that have never legalized cannabis, Frédéric shows that the 2018 legalization led to a net increase in cannabis use, particularly among young adults, without, however, causing any detectable change in the use of other drugs or in the trend of accidental overdoses, which remains dominated by the fentanyl crisis.

His thesis is available on Archipel: https://archipel.uqam.ca/secure/id/eprint/19996, and his replication package can be found on the GRCH Dataverse on Borealis: https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/KGAO1L. Enjoy the read!

June 2026 – The GRCH is very pleased to welcome two new faculty members: Sam Gyetvay, a professor at UQAM, and Pierre-Loup Beauregard, a professor at the University of Montreal. Both are graduates of the University of British Columbia.

Sam’s research focuses primarily on issues related to immigration. Much of his work draws on administrative data from Germany.

Pierre-Loup’s research focuses on issues related to income inequality and the effects of public policies on poverty, particularly public housing and homelessness.