Caroline Brassard worked as an economist for the Government of Ontario in Canada, and then undertook research and long term consultancy work on poverty reduction strategies for several international non-governmental organizations in developing countries, including United Nations Children’s Fund in Madagascar, CARE in Bangladesh and Save the Children in Vietnam. She then went on to undertake a Phd in Economics at the University of London, where she taught empirical analysis for economics and management for two years, prior to joining the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.