Bhargav Gopal
Assistant ProfessorOverview
I am an economist at Smith School of Business, Queen's University, doing research at the intersection of labor, finance, and law and economics. I received a PhD in Economics from Columbia University in 2023. Prior to Columbia, I received a BA in Economics from UC Berkeley in 2015 and was a Research Fellow at Stanford Law School from 2015 to 2017.
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Appointment Type
Tenure/Tenure-Track
Academic Area
- Business Economics
Interest Topics
- Economics
- Finance
- Labour Economics
- Law
Faculty Details
Profile
Full Bio
Bhargav Gopal is an Assistant Professor of Business Economics at Smith School of Business. He is a labor economist with interests in finance and law and economics.
His research program spans three thematic areas:
(1) the economics of non-compete agreements
(2) gender diversity in corporate leadership, and
(3) regulatory institutions and organizational behavior.
Before Queen’s, he received a PhD in Economics from Columbia University in 2023 and received a BA with highest honors from UC Berkeley in 2015.
Academic Degrees
PhD | Economics (2023)
Columbia University, USA
BA | Economics (2015)
UC Berkeley, USA
Academic Experience
Smith School of Business | Queen's University
Assistant Professor (2023 - Present)
Columbia University | USA
Research Assistant (2019-2021)
Stanford Law School | USA
Research Assistant (2015-2017)
UC Berkeley | USA
Research Assistant (2013-2015)
Publications
Publications
Non-Compete Agreements and Bargaining Power (with Xiangru Li and Luke Rawling), AEA Papers and Proceedings, Forthcoming May 2026)
Working Papers
Do Non-Compete Agreements Help or Hurt Workers? Evidence from the NLSY97 (with Xiangru Li and Luke Rawling) - Submitted
Human Capital, Search Frictions, and All-Male Corporate Boardrooms - Submitted
Mandatory Disclosure and Female Representation in Corporate Leadership: Evidence from NASDAQ (with Dhruv Baswal, Tanvir Ahmed Khan, Bailey Kraus)
The Effects of Non-Compete Regulation
Other Writings
Sentiment and Sustainability: How the Language of US Corporate Filings Reveals Divergent Paths for Management Priorities on DEI and Environment, ISF White Paper (with Tanja Gonzalez and Paul Calluzzo, 2025)Media Coverage
CBC Bizdigest Feds Unveil Supports for Labour Podcast (2025)
Did You Sign a Noncompete Clause? Here’s What to Know, The Toronto Star (2024)
The Post-Chevron Era Begins with a Gut Punch to the FTC’s Non-Compete Ban, Americans for Tax Reform (2024)
Should Non-Compete Agreements Be Non-Starters, Smith Business Insight (2023)
Why Board Gender Quotas Are Nothing to Fear, Smith Business Insight (2023)
Teaching
PhD Dissertation Committee
- Jing Liang (Queen’s University, Smith School of Business, 2025)
- Qidi Hu (Queen’s University, Economics Department, 2025)
- Julia Otte (Queen’s University, Smith School of Business, 2026)
Undergraduate/Masters Students Advised and Admitted in PhD Programs
- Fall 2025: Wenqi Xie (Northwestern Kellogg Accounting)
- Fall 2024: Michael Duarte (UC Berkeley Economics), Bailey Kraus (Columbia Economics)
- Fall 2023: Xiangru Li (Columbia Economics)
- Fall 2020: Baturalp Yalcin (UC Berkeley IEOR)
Teaching Experience
Smith School of Business | Queen's University
Principles of Economics (2023 - Present)
Columbia University | USA
Economics of New York City, TA (2019)
Economics of Race in the United States, TA (2018)
Presentations
2026: American Economic Association: Advances in Research on Non-Compete Agreements in Low-Wage Labor Markets, Canadian Labour Economics Forum Webinar, University of British Columbia: Stone Inequality Seminar Series (planned), Ohio State (planned), Canadian Labour Economics Forum Conference (planned), Society of Labor Economists (planned), International Industrial Organization Conference (planned), Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada Webinar (planned)
2025: Canadian Economics Association, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, Queens University Economics Department Brown Bag, Queen’s University EDII Research Cluster
2024: Society of Labor Economists, Canadian Economics Association, European Association of Labor Economists, Southern Economics Association, Queens University Economics Department Brown Bag
2023: Queen’s University Smith School of Business, University of Alaska at Anchorage ISER
2022: Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Seminar Series at Columbia University, Discrimination and Disparities Workshop at University of East Anglia, Annual Economics Graduate Student Conference of Washington University in St. Louis
Awards
Grants & Funding
All as Principal Investigator
Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowship Grant ($10,832), 2026
CPA Ontario Centre Grant Phase 2 ($20,000), 2026
Monieson Research Grant ($12,035), 2025
SSHRC Explore Grant ($5,000), 2025
Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowship Grant ($8,000), 2025
CPA Ontario Centre Grant ($20,000), 2024
Monieson Research Grant ($14,526), 2024
SSHRC Insight Development Grant ($45,550), 2024
Research Initiation Grant ($60,000), 2023
Awards
Recipient of Frequent Flyer Award for Event Attendance (2025)
Recipient of Honorary Owl Award for Leadership and Service at Columbia University (2021)
“Thank-a-Teaching-Assistant” Award from the Center for Teaching and Learning (2019)
Service
University Service
Smith Business Economics Seminar Series Lead Organizer (2024-2026)
Graduate Committee for Business at Smith School of Business, Queen’s University (2024-2025)
Libraries Committee at Smith School of Business, Queen’s University (2023-2024)
Arts and Sciences Graduate Council at Columbia University (2019-2021)
Policy
Provided expert feedback on non-competition policy to Canada’s Strategic Policy and Legislative Reform Division (Jan 2026)
Professional Affiliations
EDII Research Cluster at Queen’s University
Referee
AEJ: Applied