Christopher Ragan is a Canadian academic and economist. He is best known for his research on monetary policy, and for his popular introductory textbook, Economics, now in its fourteenth edition and co-authored by Richard Lipsey.
He is an Associate Professor at McGill University, where he has been on the faculty since 1989. Throughout his tenure, he has taught a wide range of economics courses, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In 2007, he became the first in the Faculty of Economics to receive the H. Noel Fieldhouse teaching award for excellence in teaching.
His research and academic writing is largely focused on Canadian public policy challenges, and since 2007, the policy responses to the financial crisis of 2007-2009.
Previously, he was Chair of Canada's Ecofiscal Commission, a group of Canadian economists seeking to broaden the discussion of environmental pricing reform beyond the academic sphere and into the realm of practical policy application. From 2010 to 2013, Ragan held the David Dodge Chair in Monetary Policy at the C.D. Howe Institute, a Toronto-based public policy think tank. Previously, he served as the Clifford Clark Visiting Economist at the Department of Finance, a Special Advisor to the Governor of the Bank of Canada, and member of the C.D. Howe Institute's Monetary Policy Council. From 1996 to 2000, he was Editor-in-Chief of World Economic Affairs.
He has also been a columnist for numerous publications, including the National Post, the Montreal Gazette, the National Post Magazine, and most recently the Globe and Mail.
Course(s):
Core Policy Course: Microeconomics for Public Policy
Core Policy Course: Global Macroeconomic Policy
Degree(s):
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Economics)
MA, Queen's University (Economics)
BA, University of Victoria (Economics)
Chris Ragan's latest news and research
Chris Ragan on the Conservative's Climate Plan | CBC Power & Politics
Published: 16 Apr 2021‘Are we going to be able to pull this off?’: How the Bank of Canada doused a financial fire last spring | The Globe and Mail
Published: 9 Mar 2021The 'safe bets' and 'wild cards' needed to meet Canada's net zero emissions target | Maclean's
Published: 17 Feb 2021What Should Canada Do Next? | Hot Talk Podcast
Published: 12 Jan 2021The Liberals need to have faith that their carbon tax will do its job | The Line
Published: 12 Jan 2021Why the Bank of Canada needs a revised mandate | The Globe and Mail
Published: 17 Sep 2020Canada’s COVID-19 recovery plan | The Current
Published: 7 Jul 2020Three rules for post-pandemic corporate rescues | Financial Post
Published: 5 Jun 2020Canada needs a new prescription for the pandemic recession | Maclean's
Published: 2 Jun 2020Engineering a ‘green recovery’ is a terrible idea | The Globe and Mail
Published: 1 Jun 2020