Claire Duquennois, Assistant Professor of Economics, began teaching at the University of Pittsburgh in 2020. Formerly, Claire was a Professor at the University of Colorado Denver, at the locations of both Denver and Beijing. She received her PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics, and teaches in Labor, Development, and Behavioral Economics. One of Claire’s key courses is Economic Inference from Data. Her course is structured around hands-on experience in applied econometric methods, where students build empirical relationships with cause and effect.
Q: What courses do you teach in the MQE Program?
A: “I love teaching Applied Economics, Casual Inference, and Economic Inference from Data in particular. You really learn how to organize your thoughts so that you can use your data to answer pivotal economic questions. It’s amazing to be able to say, ‘This caused this to happen.’”
Q: What do you love most about teaching in the MQE program?
A: “As a professor, it’s always exciting to work with interested and motivated students like those in the MQE program. It’s beyond rewarding to know that they will take the skills they learn in my class and apply them to future projects. I think the Pitt MQE program is great in its focus on concrete applied training and for its efficiency in getting the students involved in real applications so quickly.”
Q: What is the biggest take-away you hope students will gain from your class?
A: “I teach them to be careful thinkers. My hope is that they look at a project or write a report, and they can critically and accurately assess their data. Data can often be complicated to process, and it’s important to know what the data is actually showing. Being able to recognize, differentiate, and communicate what you know versus what you don’t know is so important.”
Professor Claire Duquennois aims to provide students with the important skills of critical thinking and real-world application in hopes they will rely on and strengthen those skills in their future endeavors. Although new to the Pittsburgh area, Claire Duquennois’ students will attest to her love of exploring the nature the area has to offer, as well as finding the best restaurants in town.