Ruhani
Walia
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Initialising
Economist in Training · Researcher · Writer

Ruhani
Walia

I’m an economist in training studying how economic shocks propagate—and why the same shock can produce different outcomes across people, firms, and regions. I currently work as a research assistant at the Bank of Canada, contributing to systemic risk and macro-financial models. My interests sit at the intersection of economics, computation, and policy.

Previously: Stanford Digital Economy Lab · RBC Capital Markets · Interac.

View Research → Get in touch
Recent Activity Live
Publication · May 2025
Harnessing Generative AI: Navigating the Transformative Impact on Canada's Labour Market
IRPP Study No. 97 · with M. Oschinski
Publication · Feb 2025
Effects of Macroprudential Policy Announcements on Perceptions of Systemic Risks
Bank of Canada Staff Analytical Note
Op-Ed · Jun 2025
Canada could lead on AI — if we're willing to train for it
The Hill Times
Position · Jun 2025
Research Assistant, Macro-Financial Modelling Division, Bank of Canada
Financial Stability Department · Ottawa
Essay · May 2025
Things That Made Sense Somewhere Else — reflections on exchange, discomfort, and choosing joy
Personal Writing · Medium
Award · 2024
CEA–BoC Undergraduate Research Award Finalist — one of 10 students nationwide
58th Annual Canadian Economics Association Meeting
Profile · Oct 2025
Profiled Student, University of Toronto Convocation 2025
University of Toronto
Publication · May 2025
Harnessing Generative AI: Navigating the Transformative Impact on Canada's Labour Market
IRPP Study No. 97 · with M. Oschinski
Publication · Feb 2025
Effects of Macroprudential Policy Announcements on Perceptions of Systemic Risks
Bank of Canada Staff Analytical Note
Op-Ed · Jun 2025
Canada could lead on AI — if we're willing to train for it
The Hill Times
Position · Jun 2025
Research Assistant, Macro-Financial Modelling Division, Bank of Canada
Financial Stability Department · Ottawa
Essay · May 2025
Things That Made Sense Somewhere Else — reflections on exchange, discomfort, and choosing joy
Personal Writing · Medium
Award · 2024
CEA–BoC Undergraduate Research Award Finalist — one of 10 students nationwide
58th Annual Canadian Economics Association Meeting
Profile · Oct 2025
Profiled Student, University of Toronto Convocation 2025
University of Toronto
2019
My First Experiment
3
Disciplines Trained In
6
Years of Active Research
0
Lanes Stayed In
1
Throughline
Bank of Canada Stanford Digital Economy Lab University of Toronto Institute for Research on Public Policy RBC Capital Markets University of Edinburgh LA Behavioural Economics Lab Laidlaw Foundation Toronto Experimental Economics Lab Interac Corp. Cansbridge Impact Labs Bank of Canada Stanford Digital Economy Lab University of Toronto Institute for Research on Public Policy RBC Capital Markets University of Edinburgh LA Behavioural Economics Lab Laidlaw Foundation Toronto Experimental Economics Lab Interac Corp. Cansbridge Impact Labs
Currently
Reading
Development As Freedom by Amartya Sen — and thinking about how capability evolves in an AI economy.
Thinking about
How modelling choices shape which risks are measured and visible in economic data.
Working on
Macro-financial models at the Bank of Canada. And slowly drafting the next field note.
Research Methods

A growing
toolkit.

I have worked with a mix of econometric and computational tools. My experience includes impulse-response analysis, local projections, VAR, quantile regression, difference-in-differences, and instrumental variables, alongside machine learning methods such as random forests.

I primarily use Python, R, and Stata, and have worked with financial and administrative datasets through platforms such as Haver, LSEG Workspace, FAME, and Dealogic. Still adding to the list.

~$ python3 irf_analysis.py --policy macroprudential
Loading high-frequency Canadian market data...
→ Staff Analytical Note, Bank of Canada (2025)
 
~$ R --vanilla DiD_Rwanda_succession.R
DHS survey data loaded. Running DiD estimator...
β₁ = 0.142*** — child healthcare access ↑ ✓
 
~$ python3 PPP_efficacy.py --method IV,RF,OLS
CEA–BoC Poster Session Finalist (2024)
~$
—

The Intellectual Arc

Click any node to explore how each chapter of research grew from the last.

2019–2021
Molecular Science
Canadian Light Source
2021–2022
Behavioural Economics
USC · UofT
2022–2023
Digital Economy & AI
Stanford SDEL
2023–2024
Labour & Public Policy
IRPP · UofT
2024
Macroprudential Finance
Bank of Canada
2025–Now
Financial Stability
Bank of Canada
Outputs & Milestones
01

Research & Publications

May 2025
Published Study
Harnessing Generative AI: Navigating the Transformative Impact on Canada's Labour Market
With Matthias Oschinski (Georgetown University) · Institute for Research on Public Policy, Study No. 97
IRPP ↗
Plain English
Generative AI won't kill your job — it will change what the job is. We measured exactly how, across every occupation in Canada.
Feb 2025
Published Staff Analytical Note
Effects of Macroprudential Policy Announcements on Perceptions of Systemic Risks
With Thibaut Duprey, Kerem Tuzcuoglu & Victoria Fernandes · Bank of Canada
Bank of Canada ↗
Plain English
When Canada tightens financial rules, markets actually notice — and update their view of how safe the big banks are.
Apr 2025
Working Paper
The Effect of Rwanda's 1999 Succession Law on Children's Healthcare Access
With Ivy Zhu (Duke University) · Difference-in-differences using DHS data
Working Paper ↗
Plain English
Giving women the right to inherit land translated, measurably, into better healthcare outcomes for their children.
May 2024
Working Paper
Job Preservation Dynamics: A Comprehensive Study of Paycheck Protection Program Loan Efficacy
OLS · IV · Random Forests · Selected for CEA–BoC Undergraduate Poster Session
CEA Finalist ↗
Plain English
The PPP saved jobs — but not equally. The benefits clustered around certain firm types, complicating the program's legacy.
Sep 2022
Working Paper
Exploring Observation as a Nudge to Inform Economic Theories About Prosocial Decision-Making
Principal Investigator · Supervised by Robert S. Gazzale · Laidlaw Foundation ($10,000) · Toronto Experimental Economics Lab
Lab Study ↗
Plain English
Being watched makes people more generous — a lab experiment testing whether observation alone can nudge prosocial behaviour.
02

Experience

Bank of Canada
Research Assistant, Financial Stability
Jun 2025 – Present · Ottawa
Macro-Financial Modelling Division. Systemic risk analysis and policy simulations.
01
Bank of Canada
Student RA, Systemic Risk Analytics
Jul – Aug 2024 · Ottawa
IRF analysis of Canadian macroprudential policy using high-frequency data. Led to published Staff Analytical Note.
02
Stanford Digital Economy Lab
Research Intern
Nov 2022 – Nov 2023
Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson's lab. Quantifying the shift from tangible to digital assets; AI adoption economics. Authored the lab's bi-weekly newsletter.
03
RBC Capital Markets
Strategic Initiatives Summer Analyst
May – Jul 2023 · Toronto
Competitive landscape analysis via Dealogic. Market development tracking for senior leadership.
04
University of Toronto
Research Assistant to Department Chair
Oct 2022 – Apr 2023
Applied micro project for Prof. Ettore Damiano. Dataset compilation and descriptive statistics.
05
LA Behavioural Economics Lab, USC
Research Intern
Sep 2021 – Jun 2022
Decision-making, grit, and perseverance research under Prof. Isabelle Brocas.
06
The Decision Lab
Consulting Summer Associate
Apr – Sep 2021
Projects with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Kids Help Phone.
07
Interac Corp.
Innovation & Emerging Solutions Intern
Jul – Aug 2020
Research on Consumer-Directed Finance. Databases on market trends and emerging financial technologies.
08
03

Work in the world.

Some of the problems that drew me to economics in the first place.
Non-Profit · Global Health
Ending Maternal Mortality
Co-founded a registered Canadian non-profit addressing maternal mortality in Northern Nigeria. D-Prize winner ($20K). Piloted misoprostol distribution to prevent postpartum hemorrhage.
Field Work · Global Development
Fiji Community Health & Education
Six weeks of on-ground community health work in rural Fiji — building a health facility, supporting NCD screening with Diabetes Fiji, and delivering mental health anti-stigma initiatives with Youth Champs 4 Mental Health.
Community Development · Education
Dreketi Settlement Kindergarten
Co-organized a fundraiser at the Laidlaw Scholars Conference to support construction of a kindergarten and evacuation centre in Dreketi, Fiji — building on prior fieldwork in the community.
Climate · Policy
XPRIZE Carbon Capture
Evaluated the market and technical feasibility of carbon capture solutions for the XPRIZE Foundation — assessing what would actually need to be true for these technologies to scale.
Early Childhood Development · Kenya
Kidogo
Assisted the executive team with expansion strategy through competitive benchmarking and sector research for early childhood development programs in Kenya.
Technology · Social Good
Impact Labs Fellowship
A San Francisco fellowship connecting young technologists with founders and experts to develop projects for social good. Worked with a cohort to design and pitch a technology-driven solution to a real-world problem.
05

Field Notes

"There is no such thing as an inarticulate idea waiting to have the right words wrapped around it."

My essays are where I think out loud about discomfort, growth, friendship, travel, and the questions that don’t fit neatly into models.

Ruhani Walia
Latest Field Note · May 2025
Things That Made Sense Somewhere Else
Reflections from a semester abroad, and what came after
10 min read · Travel
On Edinburgh, bad omens, and the discomfort of stillness. A meditation on motion, mental models, and choosing joy.
Read essay →
Field Note · Sep 2023
Lessons from an Indigenous Fijian Village
My first solo trip to the other side of the globe
28 min · Travel
Short Essay · May 2024
5 Mins on Friendship
On meeting more new people than ever before
5 min · Friendship
Analysis · Mar 2021
When Nudge Comes to Shove
You're not the only one making your choices
6 min · Behavioural Economics
Short Essay · Dec 2020
Why You Should Play Balderdash
And tackle the noble attempt of defining “self”
6 min · Philosophy
All writing on Medium →
06

Speaking & Media

Op-Ed · Hill Times · 2025
Canada could lead on AI — if we're willing to train for it
Co-authored with Matthias Oschinski
↗
Profile · Oct 2025
Profiled Student, UofT Convocation 2025
University of Toronto
↗
Conference · May 2024
CEA–BoC Undergraduate Research Poster Session
Canadian Economics Association
↗
Conference · Apr 2024
UofT Fourth Annual Tech-Econference
University of Toronto
↗
Talk · Mar 2020
South by Southwest (SXSW)
Austin, TX
↗
Podcast · 2020–2023
Be The Change — 3× Guest
Spotify
↗
Talk · May 2020
City of Brampton Youth Innovators
Brampton, Ontario
↗
Talk · Sep 2020
Verizon Immersion — Panelist
Verizon
↗
Interview · Oct 2020
Ericsson Interviewer
Ericsson
↗

Got a problem
worthsolving?

I'm at my best in conversations that cross disciplinary lines — economics and policy, research and practice, rigour and real-world stakes. If you're working on something that fits that description, I want to hear about it.

Research collaborations, policy engagements, speaking invitations, or just a good thread to pull on — reach out.

↗ Request CV