Grégoire Maillard wins 1st prize for an essay on fiscal policy
2019-2020 Fiscal Policy Challenge
April 2, 2020
Bachelor's in Business Administration (BBA) student Grégoire Maillard took first place in the Centre for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations (CIRANO) Fiscal Policy Challenge.
He wins a $1,500 prize and a paid internship at the Ministère des Finances du Québec, at a date and for a period to be determined later.
The Fiscal Policy Challenge is an annual competition open to university students, particularly those specializing in economics, finance, taxation or political science. The aim of the competition is to have students find innovative solutions to current public policy issues.
To take part in this individual competition, students had to submit an essay last November on labour force challenges. More specifically, they had to discuss the impacts of a low unemployment rate on the Quebec economy and suggest what actions should be implemented to meet workforce needs.
The winners, chosen by a committee of academic members of CIRANO and professionals from the Ministère des Finances du Québec, were officially announced on March 19.
Photo credit: Victoria-Mei Zummo
Grégoire, who is specializing in Applied Economics, took a rigorous scientific approach in his essay, while at the same time borrowing from other disciplines including marketing and artificial intelligence in developing his solutions.
“I think my experience in the AGIR track, a special BBA cohort, really helped to prepare me for this type of exercise. We examine lots of case studies, and very often have to come up with solutions to real-life problems,” he explains.
Grégoire will be completing his bachelor’s degree at HEC Montréal in the next few weeks. This fall he will start a master’s degree in Economics at McGill University.