Christopher Cotton

Christopher Cotton is a distinguished faculty member in the Department of Economics at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. Holding the prestigious Jarislowsky-Deutsch Chair in Economic and Financial Policy, he also serves as the Director of the John Deutsch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy. Additionally, he brings his expertise as the Principal Economist and Research Director at Limestone Analytics, a consultancy in Kingston specializing in advising NGOs and governments on navigating social project financing, implementation, and evaluation.

With an extensive background in research and evaluation, Christopher Cotton currently leads as the External Evaluator for projects like the IGATE-T initiative under the DFID (UK) Girl’s Education Challenge in rural Zimbabwe. Moreover, he supervises the assessment of World Vision’s Youth Ready program in El Salvador and Honduras. His past experiences encompass collaboration with multiple entities on projects focusing on program evaluation, education, local economic development, and impact studies.

Christopher Cotton's academic pursuits employ lab and field experiments, game theory, and empirical analysis to gain deeper insights into social programs, education, public policy, and business and political strategy. His scholarly work has been featured in prestigious academic publications including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Public Economics, and Management Science. Furthermore, his research has been highlighted in various prominent media outlets such as US News, Quartz, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Forbes.

Beyond academia, Christopher Cotton has contributed to non-academic platforms such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, VoxEU, and Policy Options. He is frequently sought after by national news channels like the Globe and Mail, CBC, and the Canadian Press for discussions on topics like campaign finance reform and other pressing issues.

Christopher Cotton's educational background includes a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and a Master of Arts (MA) in Economics from Cornell University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Economics from Michigan State University. His professional journey includes roles like Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Miami, Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at Cornell University, and Consultant and Practice Area Manager at Anderson Economic Group.