The Yrjö Jahnsson Prize in Economics was established in 1993, the award is the highest of its kind in Europe and is given every second year to one or more young (under the age of 45) European economists who have made a contribution in theoretical and applied research that is significant to the study of economics in Europe. The award winner is selected by a committee made up of one member nominated by the board of Finland’s Yrjö Jahnsson foundation and four nominated by the European Economic Association. The winner this year was announced at the EEA annual congress, held in Barcelona in late August.
Fabrizio Zilibotti, the first academic from a Swiss University and the second Italian to be awarded this prize, shares the award with John van Reenen, a Professor at the London School of Economics. According to the award committee, Mr Zilibotti was selected on account of his “greatly
[improving]
our understanding of how technological innovation affects economic growth at different stages of economic development. He also contributed to the positive analysis of the welfare state, explaining how economic and political forces interact to shape government redistribution."
A former Professor of Economics at University College London and at the Institute of International Economic Studies in Stockholm, Mr Zilibotti studied at the University of Bologna and at the London School of Economics. He is currently the Head of the Chair of Macroeconomics and Political Economy of the University of Zurich’s Institute of Empirical Economic Research (IEW). His research interests include economic growth and development, political economy, macroeconomics, financial economics, and industrial organization. He is the main editor of the Journal of the European Economic Association, a director of the Review of Economic Studies, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Economic Growth.
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