Canadian Economics Association Annual Meeting: Understanding AI and the Economy

Stephen Tapp is the CEO and Chief Economist at CSLS. He previously served as Chief Economist and SVP of Research, Data and Analytics at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, where he launched and managed the Business Data Lab. Stephen is the President of the Canadian Association for Business Economics and a member of the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council. He has 25 years of diverse experience at many of Canada’s top economic organizations, including Export Development Canada as the Deputy Chief Economist, the Bank of Canada, Parliamentary Budget Office, Finance Canada, academia, as well as think tanks, such as the Institute for Research on Public Policy and the C.D. Howe Institute. Stephen’s research was awarded the Purvis prize for Canadian economic policy and has been published in academic journals, including the Canadian Journal of Economics and Canadian Public Policy. He has a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Queen’s University and an Honours B.A. in Economics with Distinction from Western University.

Ryan Macdonald is the director of the Economic and Social Analysis and Modelling Division at Statistics Canada. Prior to taking on the role of director, Ryan worked at Privy Council Office, at Statistics Canada and at the Bank of Canada. Ryan has over 25 years of experience researching business dynamics, economic progress and aggregate income, intangible capital, productivity and how to measure economic phenomenon. His work is published in academic journals, in international measurement handbooks and in government monographs. Ryan received is Masters of Arts in Economics from the University of Victoria and his BA Honours in Economics from Dalhousie University.

Jiang Beryl Li is a Senior Project Leader from the Office of Chief Economist at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. A trained economist, Beryl’s research covers a wide array of areas: productivity, multinationals, foreign direct investment, entrepreneurship, gender and immigration, and more recently, the twin transition of AI and green. Her work has been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Econometrics, ILR Review and Canadian Journal of Economics. Prior to joining ISED, she worked at the Office of Chief Economist/Global Affairs Canada, and Economic Analysis Division/Statistics Canada where she also served as a Liaison Researcher for the SSHRC Productivity Partnership Program. She received her PhD in economics from the University of Victoria.