Christopher Cotton

View Dr. Cotton's CV

Christopher Cotton is a Professor of Economics at Queen's University where he holds the Jarislowsky-Deutsch Chair in Economic & Financial Policy. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses across the Department of Economics, the School of Policy Studies, and the Smith School of Business. He holds cross-appointments with the Queen's School of Policy Studies and the School of Medicine. 

His research considers expertise and evidence, how they develop, and how they shape strategy and policy. It sits at the intersection of applied microeconomics, informational and organizational economics, and political economy, with applications in evidence-based policy, education, health, technology & productivity, and the economics of science.

Much of his work on how leaders make decisions, how organizations engage with expertise and evidence, and the challenges facing the science-to-policy pipeline is informed by work with real-world institutions. He is the director of the John Deutsch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy. During COVID, Dr. Cotton led national efforts to bring together economists, epidemiologists, and public health leaders to assess policies, including as co-founder and director of the PHAC/NSERC-funded One Society Network for Emerging Infectious Disease Modeling, and as a member of working groups for Global Canada and the Royal Society of Canada. His COVID-19 work culminated in my nomination for the 2022 Governor General’s Innovation Award, the book Lasting Disruption, and ongoing research on the science of science across disciplines and policymaking under uncertainty and time pressure. He also serves as board member and advisor at Limestone Analytics, and has led large impact evaluations of education programs for the UK government, designed evaluations and training programs for USAID, and advised governments and organizations around the world on evaluations and evidence, including organizations such as the Gates Foundation, Nutrition International, UNICEF, World Vision, and the World Health Organization.

His research has been published in top scientific journals, including the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, and leading journals across several fields. It has received grant funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Tri-Council's New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), Canada's Digital Technology Supercluster, the Spencer Foundation, and others. 

Dr. Cotton has supervised the research of more than 50 PhD and MA students (list on my CV). I teach professional courses in policy and business schools, and economics courses from game theory and public economics to applied econometrics. I co-created the Certificate in Professional Impact Analysis and developed a professional program on public finance and education systems for USAID education officers worldwide.