Daniel Trefler

Douglas and Ruth Grant Canada Research Chair in Competitiveness and ProsperityProfessor of Economic Analysis and Policy at Rotman School of Management

Schools

  • Rotman School of Management

Links

Biography

Rotman School of Management

Bio

Daniel Trefler is the J. Douglas and Ruth Canada Research Chair in Competitiveness and Prosperity at the Rotman School of Management and a Senior Research Fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Studies.

Professor Trefler is an internationally respected trade economist, known for his path-breaking contributions to fundamental research. This research has been instrumental in the design and pursuit of trade agreements that promote productivity, innovation and investment while minimizing the harmful effects on workers and the most disadvantaged. In recent years he has advised Global Affairs Canada on national policies towards foreign direct investment and helped to frame the document that launched the Canada-EU trade agreement.

The importance and influence of Professor Trefler’s work has been recognized through numerous distinctions including the 2016 Killam Prize in Social Sciences (Canada’s ‘Nobel Prize’), the 2016 Bank of Canada Fellowship Award, a Canada Research Chair, and all three major awards of the Canadian Economics Association.

Born and raised in Toronto, Professor Trefler holds degrees in economics from the University of Toronto (BA), Cambridge University (M.Phil) and UCLA (Ph.D). 

Academic Positions

1997 to Current  Professor; Rotman School of Management

1994-96  Visiting Associate Professor; The Irving B.Harris Grad School of Public Pol.Studies, Univ of Chicago

as of July 1994  Associate Professor; University of Toronto

1990-94  Assistant Professor; Department of Economics, University of Toronto

1988-90  Lecturer; Department of Economics, University of Toronto

Honors and Awards

2016-2021  Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), How We Compete: Canadian Firms Responding to the Rise of the Chinese Economy

2016  Killam in the Social Sciences

2015 to 2020  Bank of Canada Fellowship Award

2011-2014  The Complex Integration Strategies of Multinational Corporations; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

2010  Noni MacDonald Award

2010-2017  Canada Research Chair in Competitiveness and Prosperity

2009-2010  International Trade, Inequality, and Institutional Change; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

2008-2011  Global Sourcing and Capability Building: Threats and Opportunities for Canada; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

2004-2010  International Competitiveness and Domestic Institutions; Canada Research Chair

2004-2007  International Trade and Domestic Institutions; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

2006  Offshore Outsourcing Capitalizing on Lessons Learned; Industry Canada, sponsored conference-organizer

2000-2003  International Trade as if People Matter; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

2000  Rae Prize; Canadian Economic Association for Excellence in Research

Selected Publications - Papers

Deductions from the Export Basket: Capabilities, Wealth and Trade John Sutton and Dan Trefler Journal of Political Economy 2016

International Trade and Institutional Change: Medieval Venice's Response to Globalization Diego Puga and Dan Trefler Quarterly Journal of Economics 2014

Incomplete Contracts and the Boundaries of the Multinational Firm Nathan Nunn and Dan Trefler Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 2013

Gains From Trade When Firms Matter Marc J. Melitz and Dan Trefler Journal of Economic Perspectives 2012

Canadian Policy Responses to Offshore Outsourcing Trefler, D., Helpman, E. Rotman School of Management and Industry Canada 2010

The New World Division of Labor Trefler, D. Rotman School of Management and Industry Canada 2010

The Political Economy of Tariffs & Long-Term Growth Nathan Nunn & Dan Trefler American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 2010

The Structure of Factor Content Predictions Susan Zhu & Dan Trefler Journal of International Economics 2010

Improved Access to Foreign Markets Raises Plant-Level Productivity .... for Some Plants Alla Lileeva and Daniel Trefler Quarterly Journal of Economics 2009

Videos

Read about executive education

Books

Mexico and Canada Before and After NAFTA; In NAFTA at 20, edited by Michael Boskin; Hoover Institution Press; 2014; Pages: pp 38-42

Domestic Institutions as a Source of Comparative Advantage; with Nathan Nunn. In Handbook of International Trade; edited by Gita Gopinath, Elhanan Helpman, and Kenneth Rogoff. Amsterdam: Elsevier; Issue: Volume 4; 2014; Pages: pp263-315

The New World Division of Labor; with Elhanan Helpman. In Offshore Outsourcing: Capitalizing on Lessons Learned, edited by Daniel Trefler, Toronto: Rotman School of Management and Industry Canada; 2010; Pages: pp2.1-2.25

Canadian Policy Responses to Offshore Outsourcing; In Offshore Outsourcing: Capitalizing on Lessons Learned, edited by Daniel Trefler; 2010; Pages: pp1, 1-1.30

Offshore Outsourcing: Capitalizing on Lessons Learned; edited by Daniel Trefler; Toronto: Rotman School of Management and Industry Canada; 2010

The Boundaries of the Multinational Firm: An Empirical Analysis; In The Organization of Firms in a Global Economy, edited by Elhanan Helpman, Dalia Marin, and Thierry Verdier. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 2008; Pages: pp55-83. With Nathan Nunn

Service Offshoring: Threats and Opportunities; In Brookings Trade Forum 2005: Offshoring White-Collar Work, edited by Susan M. Collins and Lael Brainard. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press; 2006; Pages: pp35-60

Successful Economies, Failed Economics: What the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Teaches Us about International Economics; In The MacDonald Commission Report 20 Years On edited by David Laidler and Bill Robson. Toronto: C.D. Howe Institute; 2005; Pages: pp111-120

A Time to Sow, A Time to Reap: The FTA and Its Impact on Productivity and Employment; In Productivity Issues in Canada edited by Someshwar Rao and Andrew Sharpe. Calgary: University of Calgary Press; 2002; Pages: pp357-569. With Gary Sawchuk

Papers

  • Mexico and Canada Before and After NAFTA; In NAFTA at 20, edited by Michael Boskin; Hoover Institution Press; 2014; Pages: pp 38-42
  • Domestic Institutions as a Source of Comparative Advantage; with Nathan Nunn. In Handbook of International Trade; edited by Gita Gopinath, Elhanan Helpman, and Kenneth Rogoff. Amsterdam: Elsevier; Issue: Volume 4; 2014; Pages: pp263-315
  • The New World Division of Labor; with Elhanan Helpman. In Offshore Outsourcing: Capitalizing on Lessons Learned, edited by Daniel Trefler, Toronto: Rotman School of Management and Industry Canada; 2010; Pages: pp2.1-2.25
  • Canadian Policy Responses to Offshore Outsourcing; In Offshore Outsourcing: Capitalizing on Lessons Learned, edited by Daniel Trefler; 2010; Pages: pp1, 1-1.30
  • Offshore Outsourcing: Capitalizing on Lessons Learned; edited by Daniel Trefler; Toronto: Rotman School of Management and Industry Canada; 2010
  • The Boundaries of the Multinational Firm: An Empirical Analysis; In The Organization of Firms in a Global Economy, edited by Elhanan Helpman, Dalia Marin, and Thierry Verdier. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 2008; Pages: pp55-83. With Nathan Nunn
  • Service Offshoring: Threats and Opportunities; In Brookings Trade Forum 2005: Offshoring White-Collar Work, edited by Susan M. Collins and Lael Brainard. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press; 2006; Pages: pp35-60
  • Successful Economies, Failed Economics: What the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Teaches Us about International Economics; In The MacDonald Commission Report 20 Years On edited by David Laidler and Bill Robson. Toronto: C.D. Howe Institute; 2005; Pages: pp111-120
  • A Time to Sow, A Time to Reap: The FTA and Its Impact on Productivity and Employment; In Productivity Issues in Canada edited by Someshwar Rao and Andrew Sharpe. Calgary: University of Calgary Press; 2002; Pages: pp357-569. With Gary Sawchuk

Other experts

Shijie Lu

Bio Shijie Lu is an Assistant Professor of Marketing and Jerome Robinson Fellow at the University of Houston. He is a quantitative marketing researcher. His research interests primarily focus on online advertising, user-generated content, competitive strategy, and piracy. His research has appea...

Eugene Caruso

Eugene M. Caruso studies social judgment, group decision-making and negotiation, egocentrism, perspective-taking, and ethics. His teaching interests include decision-making, social psychology, negotiation, and research methodology. Caruso has received research funding as part of a 3-year, $3.6 mi...

Looking for an expert?

Contact us and we'll find the best option for you.

Something went wrong. We're trying to fix this error.