image: INSEAD Professor Alexandra Roulet awarded 2024 Best Young French Economist by the Cercle des économistes and Le Monde
Credit: INSEAD
INSEAD, The Business School for the World, announced today that Professor Alexandra Roulet has been named the 2024 Best Young French Economist by the Cercle des économistes and Le Monde.
Established in 2000, the Best Young Economist Award is conferred annually to French economists under the age of 41 who are recognised for their significant contribution towards academic excellence and relevance in the area of public policy. Founded in 1992 the Cercle des économistes is a French think tank led by prominent economists in France, while Le Monde is one of France’s leading daily newspapers.
In recognition of her exceptional contributions to labour economics, Alexandra Roulet, Assistant Professor of Economics at INSEAD and CEPR researcher, was selected by the jury as the recipient of the 25th edition of the award. Previous winners have included noted economists such as Esther Duflo and Thomas Piketty.
Alexandra Roulet, Assistant Professor of Economics at INSEAD, said, “It is a great honour to be recognised for my work in economics, and very humbling to receive this award given the list of past recipients. I’d like to thank Le Cercle des economistes and Le Monde but also my family, my co-authors and my colleagues at INSEAD for their continued support, this prize is also for them!” said Alexandra Roulet, Assistant Professor of Economics.”
Francisco Veloso, Dean of INSEAD and Professor of Strategy, congratulated Alexandra on the award, “We are very proud of Alexandra’s accomplishment. Her pioneering research in labour economics and her dedication to advancing knowledge in this field exemplifies the excellence and impact that INSEAD strives for. We look forward to her continued contributions to the field.”
Lily Fang, Dean of Research and Innovation and Professor of Finance at INSEAD, added that, “Everyone at INSEAD is proud to see Alexandra receive this prestigious award. It is a testament to her hard work and dedication to research in the field of labour economics and a fitting reflection of the school’s commitment to rigorous research that has a real impact on the challenges facing society.”
The award was presented by Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, former President of the European Research Council and of France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Ethics Committee on 27 May at the Citéco (Cité de l'Économie).
The three economists nominated alongside Alexandra Roulet are: Antonin Bergeaud, Associate Professor in the Economics Department of HEC Paris, Fanny Henriet, Research Director at CNRS, and Benjamin Marx, Assistant Professor in the Economics Department of Boston University.
Biography of Professor Alexandra Roulet
Aged 37, Alexandra Roulet is an Assistant Professor of Economics at INSEAD and a CEPR Research Fellow. She graduated from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and earned her PhD in Economics at Harvard University. She is the current recipient of the Mathieu Guillemin MBA'97J Fellowship in Business and Society. She is a member of the French Council of Economic Analysis.
Alexandra’s research focuses on labour economics and has been published in leading academic journals such as the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics or the Journal of Public Economics. She is the co-winner of the 2017 Upjohn Institute Dissertation Award.
Between June 2022 and September 2023, she served as macro-economic and public policy advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
She has also received the 2019 prize for best economics book from the AFSE (French Economic Association) for her book Améliorer les Appariements sur le Marché du Travail (Improving Labour Market Matches).
A labour economist, her research has focused on the links between unemployment and health, on the effects of unemployment insurance and on wage gaps between men and women. On this research area, she has notably found that, in addition to differences in working time, professions or sectors, other factors come into play such as the differentiated valuation of travel time between home and work. She is collaborating with France Travail on the evaluation of certain systems and is also currently working on an assessment of the 35-hour reform.
Alexandra has a broad field of expertise. She has conducted research with Philippe Aghion on the effects of creative destruction on subjective well-being; and with Angus Deaton on the determinants of green innovation. She also works with the French General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI) on the effects of artificial intelligence on employment.
Past award recipients
The Award is presented annually to young economists early in their careers. Today, these former laureates are recognised in academic and economic fields for their work:
Former Laureates: Julia Cagé et Vincent Pons (2023) • Eric Monnet (2022) • Xavier Jaravel (2021) • Isabelle Méjean (2020) • Stefanie Stantcheva (2019) Gabriel Zucman (2018) • Antoine Bozio (2017) • Camille Landais (2016) • Pascaline Dupas (2015) Augustin Landier (2014) • Emmanuel Farhi (2013) • Hippolyte d’Albis (2012) • Xavier Gabaix (2011) Emmanuel Saez (2010) Yann Algan & Thomas Philippon (2009) • Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas (2008) David Thesmar (2007) • Thierry Mayer & Etienne Wasmer (2006) • Esther Duflo & Elyès Jouini (2005) David Martimort (2004) • Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur (2003) • Philippe Martin & Thomas Piketty (2002) Pierre Cahuc (2001) • Bruno Amable & Agnès Bénassy-Quéré (2000)