Mondo is a unique database that simultaneously provides macroeconomic data, data on international commerce as well as sectorial and innovation data. Beyond those variables, this represents a paradigm change. We believe that traditional databases are focused on a mercantile approach and may lead to biased analysis. By having access to sectorial data, we incite the user to think in terms of a meso-economic context. This data brings us closer to the reality of globalization and translates into the implementation of global value chains (GVC) from multinational companies (MNC). The thought process is motivated by the consideration of those GVC and the reasons for the attractiveness of certain sectors in emerging countries.

Avant-Garde@CIRANO is a series of seminars on a current annual theme aimed at the new generation. The theme focuses on an opportunity or a challenge for our societies in the 21st century.

This seminar was created in 2015 at CIRANO as part of its transfer mission. It is aimed at young people, some of whom will have positions of responsibility in the near future, whether in the private, public or community sector.

The objective is multiple:

• educate and inform conversations on topics of importance to society,
• bring participants to refine their opinions on scientifically based elements, and develop the ability to – listen with people who have different opinions,
• understand the sensitivities of a diverse audience,
• exchange and confront ideas.

The method is a series of seminars favouring discussions, based on scientific knowledge, with professional speakers who come to explain their point of view and academic speakers who shed light on the year’s theme.

Winners of the 2019 edition

The winners of the 2019 edition of Bourstad were announced at the awards ceremony. For a complete list of award winners and honourable mentions, please consult the results (in PDF format).

Bourstad Stock Market Simulations

The Bourstad web application offers three types of stock market simulations:

1. The Bourstad Challenge, an annual competition that runs from February to April and is attended by high school, college and university students as well as participants from the general public;
2. Bourstad private simulations organized in schools participating in the Bourstad Program;
3. Bourstad Anytime, an individual stock market simulation, permanent and free.

By proposing Bourstad, CIRANO pursues educational objectives:

1. To provide participants with the opportunity to become familiar with the functioning of financial markets and the investment vehicles offered to the investor;
2. Familiarize the participant with the main sources of economic and financial information, including financial newspapers and financial websites;
3. Get the participant interested in the general functioning of the economy as well as economic and financial news;
4. Make the participants aware of the issues arising from social corporate responsibility and give them basic notions of responsible investment;
5. Learn basic concepts in portfolio management.

In a Bourstad simulation, participants manage a fictional $ 200,000 portfolio by investing in real equity and fixed-income securities traded on Canadian stock exchanges and other financial markets, as well as in actively managed investment funds. Virtual portfolio managers can choose securities from a selection of more than 600 stocks and funds. Participants are supported by 100 teachers in participating schools and a support team from CIRANO.

By registering with the BOURSTAD financial education program, educational institutions can enroll their students in the school version of the Bourstad Challenge and organize Bourstad private simulations for their students and their staff.

The Bourstad Challenge, which began in 1987, is now reaching a wider audience following the launch in 2017 of the English version. The upgrade of the platform has also introduced Bourstad Anytime, an individual and free simulation to which more than 19,000 people are now registered.

Since acquiring Bourstad in 2015, CIRANO has completed two major phases of development that have led to a major upgrade of the technology platform.

CIRANO receives support from many partners for this financial education project: the Autorité des marchés financiers, its lead partner, the TD Bank, the business weekly Les Affaires, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) ), Finance Montreal, CFA Montreal, TMX Group, QuoteMedia and Hyprasoft.

The Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM) and the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations (CIRANO) are launching a national initiative to promote mathematics and increase numeracy. The $1 million grant has been awarded by the Minister of Finance for the "Establishment of a Strategy to Foster the Development of a Highly Skilled Workforce in Applied Mathematics for Leading-Edge Fields".

CRESSE Fellowships

The Centre for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations (CIRANO) in Montreal, the Rotman Institute for International Business, in the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and the Phelps Centre for the Study of Government and Business in the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia (“the Centres”) are pleased to announce a partnership with the European Summer School and Conference in Competition and Regulation (CRESSE: www.cresse.info).

The goal is to encourage and facilitate greater participation by young Canadian economists in this world class conference and summer school. In its tenth year in 2015, CRESSE will feature presentations and teaching by some of the leading competition policy experts in the world, including 2014 Nobel Laureate Jean Tirole who will be a Keynote Conference Speaker. More about this year’s summer school and conference can be found at: www.cresse.info

The summer school is ideal for those interested in competition economics but who, while trained in microeconomic theory and industrial organization, may have had limited opportunity for focused study in the field.

Past Activities :

• 8 july 2015 Séances CIRANO - Phelps Center (UBC) - Rotman IIB (Toronto) au congrès de l’ACE/CEA (Program)
• 30 mai 2015, Ryerson Univ, Toronto (Program)

In brief

New issues related to forecasting in macroeconomics and finance. have emerged as larger and richer data sets have become available. The FHDDA Group at CIRANO has taken up two lines of research:

• We address the gains in forecast accuracy attainable in "data-rich" environments where the number of series available for use in a forecast may number in the dozens or hundreds. Research has focused on useful ways to summarize their information in dimensionally-reduced models such as factor models, or by combining models by techniques such as Bayesian model averaging.
• We have investigated the potential effects on our models, estimation procedures, and evaluations caused by the use of preliminary data which are later revised. "Real-time" data analysis studies the revisions to measured data across different "vintages" of series, and the impact on our economic analyses. The past three years CIRANO has hosted a "Real-time" conference. We will continue to do so.

This WEB page summarizes the work undertaken at CIRANO in these area and provides links to conferences and relevant data sources. Please contact us with additional information that may be of interest to the research community.

CIRANO FHDDA Members

Campbell, Bryan

CIRANO Researcher and Fellow

Professor Emeritus, Concordia University
Ph.D., Economics, Université de Montréal

Galbraith, John W.

CIRANO Researcher and Fellow

Full Professor, McGill University
Ph.D., Econometrics, Oxford University

van Norden, Simon

CIRANO Researcher and Fellow

Full Professor, HEC Montréal
Ph.D., Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)