Two UTM Associate Professors Promoted to Professor of Economics
Congratulations to our Chair and Associate Chair of Economics at UTM on the promotion! The Department of Economics at the University of Toronto promoted five associates to the rank of professor as of 1 July 2025. The five include Professor Ronald Wolthoff, Chair of UTM Economics and Professor Eduardo Souza-Rodriguez, Associate Chair.
Environmental economist and econometrician Eduardo Souza-Rodrigues’ most recent research has included evaluations of Brazil’s anti-deforestation policies to protect the Amazon Rain Forest. He is a research affiliate at both the Forward Society Lab (FOS) and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
“Professor Souza-Rodrigues is an exceptionally caring and meticulous mentor who consistently places students’ growth and well-being at the forefront,” said class of 2024 alumna Keyi Fan, now a graduate student at the Harvard Kennedy School. “He was one of my advisors on ECO499. During the year-long course, I vividly remember how he patiently guided me step-by-step through my first independent reduced-form analysis. And I applied for access to restricted Statistics Canada RDC microdata. Despite the extensive personal details and complicated procedures involved, Eduardo wholeheartedly backed my application to ensure the highest quality data possible for my project.”
Labour economist Ronald Wolthoff is a research fellow of the IZA Institute of Labor Economics. His research focuses on questions of how workers and firms in a labor market, or buyers and sellers in a goods market or an asset market, meet and subsequently match or trade with each other. He also examines how the processes that govern these meetings and matches affects aggregate outcomes and the response of those outcomes to aggregate shocks.
“I was very happy to hear that Ronald is getting this well-deserved promotion” said Frank Leenders, Postdoctoral Researcher at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. “Ronald was one of my PhD supervisors, and I also worked with him as a TA and RA. I was always very impressed with Ronald's ability as a teacher to judge exactly the right amount of detail and difficulty needed to challenge but not discourage students. As a teacher and as a supervisor, Ronald is incredibly supportive and genuinely invested in students' academic success as well as their more general well-being. I honestly could not have wished for a better mentor.”
Leenders was one of the first PhD students Wolthoff supervised. Graduate students who have taken Wolthoff’s macroeconomics seminar agree with his assessment of Wolthoff’s style.
“Ronald is incredibly kind and enthusiastic when discussing economics. He always takes the time to understand questions and perspectives before responding, which makes conversations with him insightful and engaging. His constructive feedback during seminars is particularly valuable, as he provides thoughtful and supportive comments that enhance discussions” said Duc Nguyen, a 2025 PhD alum who has accepted a position as Assistant Professor at Amherst College.
