Anindya Sen obtained his Ph.D in Economics from the University of Toronto and has been a Professor at the University of Waterloo from 1999. His research is focused on the effects of government intervention and policy on the efficiency of markets and overall societal welfare. His published research has investigated the behavioural impacts of a wide array of policies, such as stricter impaired driving laws, mandatory seatbelt legislation, cigarette taxes, higher minimum wages, electricity pricing, and deregulation in retail alcohol markets. A detailed list of publications and media commentary can be found here.

Professor Sen is currently one of the few Canadian economists working on the effects of marijuana legalization in Canada. Many of the recommendations from his C.D. Howe research paper were adapted by the Federal Government Task Force on Marijuana Legalization, and ultimately adapted by the federal government. Key among them were: fixing federal excise taxes at $1 per gram, the federal government assuming responsibility for regulating supply, and provinces choosing their own retail distribution systems. His recent research suggests that there will be a supply shortage of legal marijuana in Canada during the first year of legalization.

In terms of specific research, the following papers by Professor Sen have been released by the C.D. Institute of Canada;

• “Cannabis Countdown: Estimating the Size of Illegal Markets and Lost Tax Revenue Post-Legalization”, with Rosalie Wyonch and available at www.cdhowe.org
• “The increasing costs of apathy towards marijuana legalization”, available at www.cdhowe.org
• “Don’t (Over) Tax that Joint, My Friend”, with Rosalie Wyonch and available at www.cdhowe.org
• “Cannabis Act Good First Step”, available at www.cdhowe.org
• “Joint Venture: A Blueprint for Federal and Provincial Marijuana Policy”, available at www.cdhowe.org
• Another study, “Which provinces will get cannabis retail sales right?”, was published by Policy Options and is available at  policyoptions.irpp.org