Professor, Department of Economics, Laurentian University
In summer of 1993, Professor MacLean went to Tohoku University in Sendai for three months.
I conducted research on Japanese urban land prices. It was a continuation of my Ph.D. dissertation research. I was able to interview municipal officials in Sendai. The experience helped to raise my Japanese language proficiency and my capacity to conduct research on the Japanese economy more generally.
Dr. MAWATARI Shohken, who had been my supervisor as a graduate student at Tohoku University, invited me to his office almost every weekday for lunch and conversation. We had enjoyable discussions in Japanese about the Japanese economy, Japanese contributions to economics, the history of economic thought, and so on.
As a researcher, my main area of expertise is the Japanese economy, especially Japanese macroeconomic policy, and as an instructor, I have taught a course on the Japanese economy practically every year for almost three decades. The Japan Foundation fellowship along with a prior Japanese Ministry of Education scholarship and subsequent visiting professor positions at Hokkaido University and Saitama University have supported my career path.
I was involved with the establishment in the mid-2000s of a student exchange program involving Laurentian University and Saitama University that continues to this day. I have served as a mentor to several Laurentian students who have gone to Saitama University for a term and to over twenty Saitama University students who have studied at Laurentian University for one or two terms.
My most recent notable project was published in March of this year: my co-edited volume titled Aggregate Demand and Employment by the British publisher Edward Elgar. In addition to co-editing the volume, I provided the introduction and a chapter on Abenomics.
