Christopher S. Cotton
Professor
Department of Economics
Queen’s University
cotton@econ.queensu.ca
I am a Professor in the Department of Economics at Queen’s University, where I hold the Jarislowsky-Deutsch Chair in Economic & Financial Policy and am the Director of the John Deutsch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy.
My research applies game theory, experimental economics and empirical methods to study issues in public policy, education, political economy, and international development.
In addition to my teaching and academic research, I work with governments and NGOs to apply insights from academic research to evaluate projects and policies, to identify novel learning opportunities, and to make sure that evidence in the public sector adheres to the same standards or rigour required for publication in leading scientific journals. For many of these opportunities, I partner with Limestone Analytics, a Canada based international consulting firm with the professional staff and experience to manage large scale projects. With Limestone, I serve as the Lead External Evaluator for a UK Department for International Development Girls’ Education Challenge project in Zimbabwe, and have helped several governments (e.g. USAID, DFID) and NGOs (e.g. World Vision, Nutrition International) evaluate projects to make better policy decisions. More detail on some of this work and how it relates to my academic research can be found on my ongoing projects page.
I am also one of the lead developers behind the new Certified Professional Impact Analyst (CPIA) program at Queen’s, which teaches social sector and international development professionals how to incorporate rigorous evaluation into all stages of their projects.
