Seminar to explain work of economists

Recent economics grads Jessica Courtney (BSc 2009) and Tim Scholz (BSc 2008) will discuss their careers in a seminar entitled “What Economists Do” on Friday, October 12.

The event is the fourth in an annual series to provide an opportunity for students to meet working economists, discuss their personal career development and the challenges and rewards of life as a professional economist.

Courtney completed an MA in economics at Simon Fraser University in 2012. After a stint working for BC Hydro, she is currently employed as an economic consultant with MNP Consulting Services in Vancouver and has completed studies in a wide range of industries, including tourism, health care, energy, utilities, transportation, insurance and immigration.

Courtney manages a suite of forecasting models for Tourism Vancouver, including the On-the-Books program, which generates monthly room demand forecasts and the Visitor Volume Model that forecasts the number of visitors to Metro Vancouver. Recently, she completed a review of the modeling and forecasting approach used by the Insurance Corporation of BC in its application for rate increases on behalf of a registered intervener.

Scholz completed an MA in economics at the University of Guelph in 2009. He is currently an economist with the International Policy Analysis Division, Department of Finance Canada in Ottawa, where he is responsible for conducting in-depth analysis of developments in the European debt crisis and the global economy.

He writes a daily “Europe Roundup” which summarizes financial, economic and political developments relating to the European debt crisis. This report circulates among colleagues at finance and externally at the Bank of Canada and the Privy Council Office. Scholz previously conducted research relating to public capital investment, infrastructure financing and Canada’s air transportation sector. He constructed and maintained a risk model used to forecast federal stimulus spending scenarios.

Their seminar is open to the public and will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday in room G125, Chrysler Hall North.

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