Hryhorii Kalachyhin

Hryhorii was born and grew up in Ukraine. Most of his academic career is linked with HSE University in Moscow, where he got his first Master's in 'World Economy". In 2022, Hryhorii decided to have a fresh start – WTI and MILE were the perfect way to do that. His primary interest lay in law courses, but he also gained new skills in empirical and quantitative economic analysis.

Before moving to Switzerland, Hryhorii already had relevant experience in academic, administrative, and teaching spheres. Hryhorii has held a research position (Research Assistant and Junior Research Fellow) in the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEIS) at HSE University for five years. He participated in various international and international economic and international relations projects, such as integration processes in Eurasia, US-China decoupling, etc. In addition, Hryhorii has taught some international economics courses, such as 'Introduction to International Trade' for high school students and workshops in English on 'International Economic Affairs' for undergraduates.

After finishing MILE courses, Hryhorii got an internship at the WTO Economic Research and Statistics Division. There, he gained invaluable quantitative analysis experience using the WTO Global Trade Model. In particular, Hryhorii contributed to preparing the World Trade Report 2024 and co-authored a Working Paper on various effects of digitalization on international trade patterns evaluated in a general equilibrium framework. Shortly after the end of the internship, Hryhorii continued his work at the WTO as a Junior Economist, where, among other things, he contributed to preparing the WTO Report in Trade and AI as well as other research projects.

Hryhorii's research interests lie in economic integration, especially PTA networks, their features, and outcomes for participants. In his MILE thesis, he explored the peculiarities of the EU Eastern Enlargement in 2004 and made empirical-based assumptions about what EU-15 sectors were most affected by preference erosion and what acceding countries caused the primary impact. This topic is a first step towards Hryhorii's PhD research at the WTI. He wants to quantitatively assess the impact of EU enlargements on the region's industrial networks and the potential effects of Ukraine's accession.