Antoine Genest-Grégoire, PhD Candidate
I came to the PhD in Public Policy hoping to kickstart an academic career. I did some research as an undergraduate in economics (at UQAM) and during my Master’s in Public Administration (at ENAP), but I wasn’t sure if I would thrive in research or in policy. I joined the chaire de recherche en fiscalité et en finances publiques at Université de Sherbrooke after completing my master’s degree. The chaire is involved in research, policy development and education on matters of tax and public finance. This gave me the opportunity to see what academics can do at the intersection of the university and public service. After four years as a research associate, then course lecturer, I decided I wanted to come back to academia full-time and get the training that a PhD provides.
I choose Carleton for two reasons. First its program has one of the best reputations amongst North American Public Policy PhDs. I knew this would mean being taught by leaders in their fields and studying with smart and motivated classmates. I also choose Carleton because its School of Public Policy and Administration houses both economists and policy experts. My own career has been about merging the rigor and independence of economics with the challenges of making policy work in politically-complex environments. I feel right at home at Carleton. My thesis focuses on family taxation policy, which sits precisely at this intersection of disciplines and Carleton offered me the opportunity to be supervised by Professor Frances Woolley, an expert in this field.
My hope is that my work with large-scale tax data will inform policy design towards more gender equality. Whether in academia or the public service, I know the skills I am developing as a PhD student will make me a convincing analyst, storyteller and changemaker.