Richard Blundell (Shoreham-by-Sea, United Kingdom; 1952) holds an MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from the London School of Economics. After ten years lecturing at the University of Manchester, in 1984 he took up a professorship at University College London, where he currently occupies the David Ricardo Chair of Political Economy. For almost thirty years, he has been Research Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), where he also heads the ESRC Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy.
Author of some 150 published papers, he has served successively as President of the European Economics Association, the Econometric Society and the Royal Economic Society, as well as co-editing Econometrica and the Journal of Econometrics.
His research achievements have been recognized with the Yrjö Jahnsson Prize, the Frisch Medal of the Econometric Society, the Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize and the CES-Ifo Prize, among other honors.
Speech
Economics, Finance and Management 7th edition
How does raising the minimum wage affect employment? What are the factors driving poverty and inequality? These are questions with no easy answer, but ones that professors Richard Blundell and David Card have at some point made it their business to answer. The two are joint winners of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the category of Economics, Finance and Management: “Motivated by important empirical questions, they developed and estimated appropriate econometric models, making significant methodological contributions in the process,” in the words of the jury’s citation.
“Motivated by important empirical questions, they developed and estimated appropriate econometric models, making significant methodological contributions in the process,” in the words of the jury’s citation.
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In a profession dominated by theoreticians and model builders, both men decided to follow a less traveled path, centering their attention on empirical analyses that develop or correct existing theories or, even, bring new theories into being. “Both Blundell and Card,” the jury notes, “are known for their attention to institutional detail, careful and innovative research design, rigorous application of econometric tools, and dispassionate reporting of results.” While Blundell is a master at juggling data, economic theory and econometric methods, Card is a pioneer in the use of the technique of “natural experiments.” These are empirical studies in which the subjects exposed to the experimental and control conditions are determined by nature or by other factors outside the control of the investigators.
Despite having started a degree in electrical engineering, Richard Blundell soon found himself drawn to economics. “I began reflecting on how to solve some of society’s key problems, and that led me to switch to economics.” He cites William Terence Gorman, an economist at the London School of Economics and a mythical figure in economic research in the UK during the 1970s, as a definitive influence in his student years: “He convinced me that economics could be a useful way of thinking about the world.”
This British economist completed a degree at the University of Bristol and the London School of Economics. After nine years lecturing at the University of Manchester, in 1984 he took up a professorship at University College London (UCL), where he currently occupies the David Ricardo Chair of Political Economy. That same year, he set up the Microeconometric Research Laboratory, likewise at UCL. For almost three decades, he has combined these positions with that of Research Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), where he sees part of his mission as to bridge the gap between academic research and policy practice. Since 1991, he has also headed the ESRC Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy at IFS.
In the course of his prolific and increasingly influential career, he has published more than 150 papers in leading journals. His impact, however, resonates far beyond his academic output. For Blundell has inspired a generation of applied microeconometricians who have become leaders in their field.
His work pursues a deeper understanding of employment, income and the savings decisions made by households, focusing on how families are affected by adverse economic conditions and how to develop policies that mitigate the worst of these impacts. Despite forays down multiple research paths, at the heart of his enterprise is the desire to “increase understanding of household and individual behavior, so we can use that knowledge to design better policies that make the world a better place.”
Both laureates have, on more than one occasion, challenged the prevailing orthodoxy. A good example is Card’s seminal paper, co-authored with Alan B. Krueger and published in 1994 in the American Economic Review: “Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.” The paper’s conclusion was that raising the minimum wage of workers in fast-food restaurants did not cause job losses. A finding which questioned the accepted view that such increases were counterproductive.
A Canadian (Guelph, 1956) based in the United States, Card has delved into core labor-market issues such as trade union bargaining, unemployment benefits and welfare programs. He has also made fundamental contributions in regard to immigration, looking at the effects of incoming foreign workers on local employment, and in education, exploring the relationship between educational level and wage disparity.
It all began when Card, then a science undergraduate, tried to help a girlfriend with her economics classes. “I started to read a textbook and found it quite enlightening. I grew up on a farm and the agricultural business is like a puzzle, so it was fun to discover that economics could help me identify some of the pieces.” He went on to earn a PhD in Economics from Princeton University in 1983, and for the next fifteen years continued researching and teaching at this institution. In 2001 he joined the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley where he now serves as the Class of 1950 Professor of Economics, combining this post with Director of the Labor Studies Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. A devoted teacher and author, his published output extends to seven books and 90 papers and book chapters.
Summing up Blundell and Card’s merits, the jury cites the importance of their work in promoting evidence-based policy on major issues like taxation, welfare and pension reform, the labor market, inequality and product market regulation.
