Paul Thomassin

Degrees

B.Sc. (Agr) (McGill University)
MSc (University of Hawaii at Manoa)
PhD (University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Short Bio

Professor Thomassin is a Professor of Agricultural Economics at McGill University.  He received his Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and his B.Sc. (Agr.) from McGill University.  His research areas include: agricultural and environmental economics, macroeconomic analysis of food and agriculture policies, food safety, and the economics of climate change.  From 2003-2007, he was the scientific director of Greenhouse Gas Management Canada, a SSHRC-BIOCAP national research network that investigated the social science dimensions of greenhouse gas management.  Professor Thomassin has provided advice to: the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN National Institutes of Sustainability and the Ministry of Environment of Japan, the OECD, and the Government of Canada.  Professor Thomassin is a Research Fellow at the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations (CIRANO).  He was a founding director of the McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics.  He has been a Visiting Professor at the William S. Richardson, School of Law, at the University of Hawaii, Visiting Fellow at the National Centre for Development Studies at the Australian National University, and Honorary Professor in the Division of Science and Technology at the University of Auckland.

Awards and Recognitions

June  2003- March 2007 Scientific Director. SSHRC/BIOCAP Joint Initiative.   National Network on the Human Dimensions on the Human Dimensions of Biosphere Greenhouse Gas Management.
April 2002 - June 2002  Visiting Professor, William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii.
Sept. 2001 - April 2002  Visiting Fellow, National Centre for Development Studies, The Australian National University.
Sept.1994 - Feb. 1995  Honorary Professor, Division of Science and Technology, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Active Affiliations

Research Fellow, Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations (CIRANO).
Experimental Economics Group.
Director, McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics
Lead: QCBS Working Group on Ecosystem Accounting

Research Interests

Professor Thomassin's research investigates the economics of agricultural and environmental policies.   This includes such areas as: changes in management practices to decrease pollution; climate change; the importance of food attributes; and food safety.  Some of the policy questions that have been investigated are: Can carbon markets decrease greenhouse gas emissions?  Can changes in plant varieties mitigate against climate change? What is the impact of healthy eating on the economy?  What is the economic impact of biofuel policy on the Canada? 

Current Research

Professor Thomassin's research program has four components: (1) measuring the economic and environmental interactions between agriculture and the environment, (2) macroeconomic and environmental impacts of trade and the environment, (3) policy and institutional design, and (4) the convergence of health and economics.  Examples of these four themes include: estimating the cost of reducing the amount of water pollution from agriculture by adopting beneficial management systems; estimating the economic and environmental impact of economic integration of Japan, Korea, China and the ASEAN countries; the impact and institutional design of developing environmental policies at the farm or watershed scale, and the economic impacts of Canadians eating a healthy diet.

Research includes

1. Estimating pollution abatement cost curves for improved water quality in a watershed in Quebec.
2. Estimating a benefit transfer function using international data and meta analysis.
3. Estimating a wealth account for agricultural land in Quebec that could be incorporated into a system of environmental-economic accounts.
4. Estimating the macroeconomic impact of biofuel policies on the Canadian economy.
5. The economic impact of genomic technology on reducing salmonella in Canada.
6. Institutional design of a carbon offset system for agriculture

Courses

Publications

Michalk, David L., David R. Kemp, Warwick B. Badgery, Jianping Wu, Yingjun Zhang, and Paul J. Thomassin. 2019. Sustainability and Future Food Security—A Global Perspective for Livestock Production. Land Degradation and Development 30(5):561-573.

Jain, Sonali, Kakali Mukhopadhyay, and Paul J. Thomassin. 2019. An Economic Analysis of Salmonella Detection in Fresh Produce, Poultry, and Eggs Using Whole Genome Sequencing Technology in Canada. Food Research International 116:802-809.

Mukhopadhyay, Kakali, Paul J. Thomassin and Jingyuan Zhang. 2018. Food Security in China at 2050: A Global CGE Exercise. Journal of Economic Structure 7:1. doi.org/10.1186/s40008-017-0097-4

Mukhopadhyay, Kakali and Paul J. Thomassin. 2018. The impact of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement on the Canadian Economy. Journal of Economic Structure 7:5. doi.org/10.1186/s40008-017-0102-y

Wu, Tingting, Kakali Mukhopadhyay, and Paul J. Thomassin. 2017. Using H-O-V Theorem to Predict the Factor Intensities in Canadian Agricultural Trade. International Journal of Applied Economics 14(1):45-64.

Mukhopadhyay, Kakali, Xi Chen, and Paul J. Thomassin. 2017. Economic and Environmental impacts of Ethanol and biodiesel policy in Canada: An input-output Analysis. International Journal of Green Energy 14(4):400-415.

Emond-Rheault, J-G, et.al. 2017. A Syst-OMICS Approach to Ensuring Food Safety and Reducing the Economic Burden of Salmonellosis. Frontiers in Microbiology 8 Article 996, pp. 1-8, doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00996.

Wu Tingting, Kakali Mukhopadhyay, and Paul J. Thomassin. 2016. A Life Cycle Inventory Analysis of Wood Pellets for Greenhouse Heating: A Case Study at Macdonald Campus of McGill University. AIMS Energy 4(5): 697-722.

Mukhopadhyay, Kakali, Paul J. Thomassin and Debesh Chakraborty. 2012. Economic Impact of Freer Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean: A GTAP Analysis. Latin American Economic Journal 49(2):147-183.

Mukhopadhyay, Kakali and Paul J. Thomassin. 2012. Economic Impact of Adopting a Healthy Diet in Canada. Journal of Public Health. 20(6):639-652.

Mukhopadhyay, Kakali and Paul J. Thomassin. 2011. Macroeconomic Effects of the Ethanol Biofuel Sector in Canada. Biomass and Bioenergy 35(7):2822-2836.

Gumilang, Howard, Kakali Mukhopadhyay and Paul J. Thomassin. 2011. Economic and Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization: The Case of Indonesia. Economic Modelling 28(3):1030-1041.

Mukhopadhyay, Kakali and Paul J. Thomassin. 2010. Impact of Regional Economic Integration in East Asia. International Economic Journal 24(2):125-153.

Johnston, Robert and Paul J. Thomassin. 2010. Willingness to Pay for Water Quality Improvements in the United States and Canada: Considering Possibilities for International Meta-Analysis and Benefit Transfer. Agriculture and Resource Economics Review 39(1):114-131.

Mukhopadhyay, Kakali and Paul J. Thomassin. 2009. Economic and Environmental Impact of Trade Liberalization: Illustrations from East and South-East Asia. OECONOMICA 54(1):54-77.

Mukhopadhyay, Kakali and Paul J. Thomassin. 2008. Economic Impact of East and South-East Asian Free Trade Agreements. Asian-Pacific Trade and Investment Review 4:57-81.

Lixon, Benoit, Paul J. Thomassin, and Bertrand Hamaide. 2008. Industrial Output Restriction and the Kyoto Protocol: An I-O Approach with Application to Canada. Ecological Economics 68:249-258.

Thomassin, Paul J. and Kakali Mukhopadhyay. 2008. Impact of East-Asian Free Trade on Regional Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Journal of International and Global Economic Studies 1(2):27-83.

Mukhopadhyay, K., Paul J. Thomassin, and D. Chakraborty. 2008. The Impact of ASEAN +3 Trade Agreements on the South Asian Economy: An Analysis in GTAP Framework. Foreign Trade Review 43(1): 3-26.

Thomassin, Paul J., Paul Atkinson, G. Cornelis van Kooten, and Alfons Weersink. 2005. The Potential Contribution of the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors to Greenhouse Gas Management: A Policy Perspective. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 53:271-273.

Morand, Hugues and Paul J. Thomassin. 2005. Changes in Quebec Cropping Practices in Response to a Carbon Offset Market: A Simulation. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 53:403-423.

Thomassin, Paul J. and L. Martin Cloutier. 2004. The Evolution of Environmental Legislation: A Strategic Transaction Approach. Journal of Economic Issues 38:493-502.

Thomassin, Paul J. 2003. Canadian Agriculture and the Development of a Carbon Trading and Offset System. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 85:1171-1177.

Seres, Stephen and Paul J. Thomassin. 2002. The Power Generation Sector’s Demand for Fossil Fuels: A Quantitative Assessment on the Viability of Carbon Fees for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development 1:283-302.

Thomassin, Paul J. 2002. Macroeconomic Impacts of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Canadian Agriculture. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 17(3):149-157.

Lussier, George, Laurie Baker and Paul J. Thomassin. 2001. Implicit Prices for Resource Quality Investments in Quebec’s Agricultural Land Market. The Canadian Journal of Regional Science 24: 295-311.

Thomassin, Paul J. and L. Martin Cloutier. 2001. Informational Requirements and the Regulatory Process of Agricultural Biotechnology. Journal of Economic Issues 35:323-333.

Messele, Teklay, Laurie Baker, Paul J. Thomassin and John C. Henning. 2001. Economic and Environmental Viability of Substituting Lupins for Soybeans: The Case of Dairy Farming in Southwest Quebec. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 18:23-54.

Dissart, Jean-Christophe, Laurie Baker and Paul J. Thomassin. 2000. The Economics of Erosion and Sustainable Practices: The Case of the Saint-Esprit Watershed. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 48:103-122.

Thomassin, Paul J. and Laurie Baker. 2000. Assessing the Macroeconomic Impacts of a Fuel Ethanol Plant on the Canadian Economy. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 48:67-85.

Peluso, Tony, Laurie Baker and Paul J. Thomassin. 1998. The Siting of Ethanol Plants in Quebec. Canadian Journal of Regional Science 21:73-86.

Cloutier, L. Martin and Paul J. Thomassin. 1994. Closing the Canadian Input-Output Model: Homogeneous vs. Non-Homogeneous Household Sector Specifications. Economic Systems Research 6:397-414.

Thomassin, Paul J. John C. Henning, and Laurie Baker. 1992. Macroeconomic Impacts of an Agro-Ethanol Industry in Canada. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 40:295-310.

Thomassin, Paul J., John C. Henning, and Laurie Baker. 1991. Old Paradigms Revisited and New Directions. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 39(4):689-698.

View list of current publications.