Amélie Quesnel-Vallée receives funding from FRQSC to study which social policies produce a better redistribution of wealth

November 29, 2019 – Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, a collaborator of the GRCH, was awarded a research grant of $ 189,999 by the Fonds de recherche du Québec, Société et Culture, as part of their Concerted Actions programme. This grant, on which Marie Connolly and Catherine Haeck are co-applicants, should allow a better understanding of the social policies that promote wealth redistribution, with the goal to reduce social inequalities and inequalities of income and health. The results will also help the government’s reflections on the matter.
Pierre Lefebvre and Catherine Haeck’s research put forward through the Parcours impact for UQAM’s 50th anniversary

Between December 3, 2019 and April 3, 2020, come discover the Parcours impact for UQAM’s 50th anniversary in the agora of the Judith-Jasmin pavilion. You will be able to see a post on Pierre Lefebvre eand Catherine Haeck’s research on the evaluation of the nutritional program OLO. Their work is one of 50 research projects from throughout UQAM’s history to have been chosen to represent research and its impacts at UQAM. Congratulations to Catherine and Pierre! For more information (in French), click here.
Catherine Haeck to present at colloquium organized by the GRIP and CHU Sainte-Justine

On December 12, 2019, Catherine Haeck will present during a colloquium on maternal mental health during the perinatal period. The colloquium, jointly organized by the GRIP and the Centre de recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine, will take place from 9:30AM to 1PM at amphitheater 125 of CHU Sainte-Justine. The event is in French.
Catherine Haeck to present the plenary session at the Journées annuelles de santé publique of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec

On November 28, 2019, Catherine Haeck will be the guest speaker at the opening plenary session of the Journées annuelles de santé publique hosted by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec. Her presentation (in French), titled ” Démystifier les outils économiques pour favoriser l’équité sociale en santé.” Follow this link for more information (in French).
Marie Connolly to present her research at the FRQSC and in webcast

On November 22, 2019, Marie Connolly will present her research in a knowledge transfer event organised by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture. This event is the final activity for a research grant received by the Research Group on Human Capital to study social mobility in Quebec. Connolly and Haeck’s work made possible the development of Statistics Canada’s Intergenerational Income Database and resulted, among others, in a publication in the Journal of Labor Economics. This meeting will take place in Quebec City, in French, but is accessible to anyone through a webcast. Registration can by done by by following this link. Other research projects financed by the same Action concertée programme from the FRQSC will also be presented: Pierre Doray from UQAM and Guy Lacroix from Université Laval are on the program. Fore more information and the program, click here.
The economic effect of education: Catherine Haeck interviewed by Gérard Filion on RDI Économie

October 25, 2019 – Catherine Haeck was interviewed yesterday by Gérard Filion on RDI Économie. Professor Haeck reminds the viewers about the importance of early intervention among children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, in order to promote skills development. The crucial element is not whether that is done in kindergarten for 4 years old or through the CPE network or daycare centres, but rather that the teaching personel and educators are qualified and provide high-quality care. Follow this link to see the complete interview (in French).
Québec’s education system: symplistic analyses, abusive conclusions

October 15, 2019 – Members of the Research Group on Humain Capital sign a letter in French-language newspaper Le Devoir about Québec’s education system. Here is an abstract: “Le rapport du mouvement L’école ensemble paru il y a quelques jours dépeint le système d’éducation du Québec comme un cancre en matière de lutte contre les « inégalités ». Il s’agit d’une déclaration tranchante qui manque cruellement de nuance, d’autant que les analyses sur lesquelles elle s’appuie sont incomplètes et trompeuses. Nos propres travaux montrent que les inégalités dans les résultats aux tests internationaux sont bien présentes au Québec, mais qu’elles ne sont pas plus marquées qu’ailleurs au Canada.”
Marie Connolly comments a Statistics Canada study on L’heure du monde, a show on Radio-Canada’s Première chaîne

October 7, 2019 – Marie Connolly discussed with Philippe-Antoine Saulnier about a Statistics Canada study on the gender wage gap in Canada. You can listen to whole segment by Mr Saulnier by following this link.
Catherine Haeck named principal investigator of the skills major research theme at CIRANO

October 4, 2019 – CIRANO named Catherine Haeck to head the major research theme on Skills. The research and liaison and transfer activities of CIRANO were reorganized around nine major themes and two transversal poles.
Fabian Lange, from McGill University, joins Catherine Haeck as co-principal investigator. The Research Group on Human Capital is pleased to partner with CIRANO to organize events and activities linked to this theme.
The Research Group on Human Capital receives funding
July 2019 – The Research Group on Human Capital recently received two major grants. The first is a renewal of its funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture, through its program for research team support. The research proposal, titled “Microeconometric Analyses of Issues Linked to Socioeconomic Inequalities,” with Philip Merrigan as Principal Investigator, received $293,712 over the next four years.
The second grand comes from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s (SSHRC) Insight Grants program and was awarded to Marie Connolly (with Catherine Haeck as coapplicant) for a project titled “Socioeconomic Mobility and the Intergenerational Transmission of Income: The Story of Immigrants in Canada.” Connolly will receive $149,209 over the next five years. Congratulations, and let’s get to work!
Catherine Haeck co-signs a letter to promote citizen mobilization for young children.

November 21, 2018 –The article aims to reiterate the importance of acting early and valuing our children. As a member of the Scientific Committee of the Grand Rassemblement pour les Tout-petits, Catherine also participated in the opening panel of the event held in Quebec City which gathered more than 650 people. Panel members provided a cross-examination of the state of play for young children in Quebec and potential avenues to improve their well-being. Children are the heart of our societies and the people working with toddlers do a remarkable job that needs even more support.
Like to the letter La Presse+ , panel link and article link UQAM.
Research Group on Human Capital members sign a letter in La Presse+ on data access

October 29, 2018 –The members of the Research Group on Human Capital sign a collective text on big data access in Québec. This test is available, in French, on La Presse+: Link to article in La Presse+
We address this letter to the new Québec government headed by the Coalition Avenir Québec. We should not underestimate the potential of data, nor the fact that the infrastructure needed to wisely share the data already exists (through the Quebec Inter-university Center for Social Statistics and the Canadian Research Data Centre Network), and that researchers are interested in exploiting those data to generate new knowledge. Happy reading!
Employment opportunity: research professional
October 29, 2018 –Catherine Haeck and Marie Connolly are looking to hire staff to provide research assistance. You can view the employment opportunity by clicking here.
Nicholas Lawson joins the Research Group on Human Capital

September 24, 2018 – Nicholas Lawson, professor of Economics at UQAM’s School of Management, joins the Research Group on Human Capital as a researcher. He teaches labour economics to undergraduate and graduate students, and econometrics to graduate students. His research focuses primarily on the evaluation of public policies in the labour market, including university tuition fees, unemployment insurance, taxation, as well as policies relevant to the health and development of children. His research combines theoretical modelling of welfare and optimal policy with empirical statistics and analysis. His work has been published in American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Labour Economics, Economics & Human Biology, and the Journal of Population Economics, among others. Welcome Nicholas!
Study by Catherine Haeck and Pierre Lefebvre contributes to the financial stability of the OLO program.
February 26, 2018 – The OLO prenatal nutrition program was selected by the Plan d’action gouvernemental pour l’inclusion économique et la participation sociale 2017-2023. This recognition comes with a grant of $4,25M for the next 5 years. The plan (section 13.3) mentions the conclusions of Catherine Haeck and Pierre Lefebvre’s work on the OLO program published in Labour Economics in 2016. Their work clearly demonstrates the benefits of the program and the positive impact it has on child health at birth.
Read the full article in Actualité UQAM : https://www.actualites.uqam.ca/2018/des-recherches-contribuent-a-la-perennite-de-la-fondation-OLO
Official news release OLO : http://fondationolo.ca/nouvelle/nouveau-financement-gouvernemental-pour-la-fondation-olo/
Philip Merrigan and Pierre Lefebvre receive grant to study ADHD in young Quebeckers
January 29, 2018 – Philip Merrigan and Pierre Lefebvre received funding for the School of Management and the Faculty of Science of the Université du Québec à Montréal to partner with Geneviève Lefebvre, Professor in the Department of Mathematics. The grant, a value of $15,000, will help them analyze statistical data from Québec to look at ADHD treatments. Three broad objectives are pursued:
- evaluate and quantify the importance of false positive and negative ADHD diagnostics;
- compute trajectories of medical acts and prescription drugs for ADHD as a function of age and frequency of ADHD diagnostics;
- estimate treatment duractions with or without diagnostic and differences by cohort and other factors.
For more information (in French), go to: XPair en santé.
Professor Marie Connolly receives prestigious Fulbright Award

March 9, 2017 – Marie Connolly, professor at the Department of Economics, received a USD 25,000 Fulbright Visiting Research Chair award from Fulbright Canada, for her project titled “Social Mobility in Canada and the United States.”
Funded by the governments of Canada and the United States, the Fulbright Canada program is one of the most prestigious programs of scholarly exchanges. Each year, the award allows researchers to pursue research stays in American universities.
On sabbatical leave from UQAM, Marie Connolly spent the Fall of 2016 at SUNY Plattsburgh (pictured above in Plattsburgh, (c) Rob Fountain). She visited the Institute on Québec Studies, which hosts Quebec researchers every year. From January 2017 on, she continues her work at the University of California, Berkeley. She also obtained funding from UC Berkeley’s Canadian Studies Program through the John A. Sproul Research Fellowship, a value of USD 4,000.
For more information (in French):
https://www.actualites.uqam.ca/2017/marie-connolly-boursiere-fulbright
Catherine Haeck comments on Justin Trudeau’s new parental leave proposal

August 19, 2015 – Catherine Haeck, Professor of Economics at UQAM’s School of Management, comments on CBC News new proposition by Liberal Party Leader, Justin Trudeau, to add flexibility to the parental leave program. Based on her research on the impacts of parental leave policies on families, she has questions about how lower-income families might use the proposed plan.
More than $300,000 in funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture
July 13, 2015 –As part of a governmental funding program from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture (FRQSC), the “Action concertée” on poverty and social exclusion, the Research Group on Human Capital of UQAM’s School of Management was offered two research grants of a total value of over $300,000.
Two projects funded
Marie Connolly, professor at the Departments of Economics of UQAM’s School of Management, and her colleagues Catherine Haeck, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, Pierre Lefebvre and Philip Merrigan received close to $160,000 in funding for their research project titled “Economic Mobility in Quebec Seen through the Intergenerational Transmission of Income.”
Philip Merrigan, professor at the Departments of Economics of UQAM’s School of Management, and his colleagues Marie Connolly, François Gardes, Catherine Haeck, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, Simon Langlois, and Pierre Lefebvre also received more than $150,000 for their project titled “A Long-Term Analysis of Inequalities and Socioeconomic Mobility by Birth Cohort, Income and Consumption Levels of Economic Families and Parental Education: 1965-2015.”
Marie Connolly acts as a witness at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women in Ottawa

May 5, 2015 – Marie Connolly, Director of the Research Group on Human Capital and Professor of Economics at UQAM’s School of Management, acted as a witness at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women of the House of Commons in Ottawa, as part of their study on Women in Skilled Trades and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Occupations. This was the 57th meeting of the Committee of 41st Parliament’s 2nd session. She shared with the Committee some of her findings from a study published in 2013 in the Canadian Journal of Economics (co-authored with Brahim Boudarbat from the University of Montreal), as well as recommendations regarding policies that could help steer young girls towards careers in STEM occupations.
The evidence will soon be available on the Parliament of Canada’s website. The slides from her presentation are available here.
The Research Group on Human Capital receives a major grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture
April 2015 – The Research Group on Human Capital received a major grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture’s Research Team Support program, of a value of $258,280 for four years. The team’s scientific program, titled “Microeconometric analyses of socioeconomic issues and public policies related to children’s, youth’s and families’ human capital,” will be executed by Marie Connolly, Catherine Haeck, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée (McGill), Pierre Lefebvre and Philip Merrigan. Only 20 teams out of 94 received funding from this program, which highlights the quality of the research done by the Research Group on Human Capital.
A new research unit is created at UQAM’s School of Management (ESG UQAM)
September 2014 – Since September 2014, UQAM’s School of Management boasts a new research unit. It is the Research Group on Human Capital, formed at the core by four professors from the Department of Economics of UQAM’s School of Management (ESG UQAM): Marie Connolly, Catherine Haeck, Pierre Lefebvre and Philip Merrigan. In fact, the recognition of this team officializes a group of researchers that existed and functioned as a de facto research group for a number of years. Indeed, the professors on the team have been working together for many years and have, throughout the years, obtained multiple grants together, including a grant from the Research Team Support Program of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture (FRQSC) for the period 2009 to 2015.
Please visit the website of the Research Group on Human Capital to know more about the Group and its research.