The Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Economic Research aims to encourage and recognise the work of researchers in the fields of economic, business and social knowledge and to contribute to the analysis and formulation of alternatives for the promotion of social well-being. Its first edition took place in 2002 and it is awarded annually.
Having reviewed the 18 entries received, the jury of the 19th Edition of the Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Economic Research recognised Dr. Eduardo Morales as the winner of the 2020 award, with prize money of 30,000 euros, for his research work on companies’ strategic decisions and how they contribute to their export performance and capacity for innovation.
Dr. Morales is one of the most outstanding researchers in the field of international trade. Much of his research work explains what it is that makes certain companies more productive than others or more successful at expanding into new markets, by considering how they frame their expectations in situations featuring incomplete information and uncertainty. For example, he has explained the origin of the so-called Spanish “export miracle” of 2009-2013, based on the performance of individual companies. He has also studied racial segregation in the United States from an innovative perspective, looking at whether different racial groups frequent the same urban consumption points, such as restaurants, as opposed to simply considering their residential locations. His work also involves an innovative methodological component through the application of econometrics to certain questions.
His research has appeared in the most prestigious international academic publications.
More information about Dr. Eduardo Morales
He has a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Law from Universidad Carlos III, Madrid, and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University. In 2006 he was awarded First Prize in the National Awards for Outstanding Law Graduates (“Premio Nacional de Fin de Carrera”), and Second Prize in the National Awards for Outstanding Economics Graduates. He was a professor at Columbia University and is currently a professor at Princeton University.
His line of research is focused on international trade with a particular interest in companies’ export performance. He has also worked in urban economics and applied econometrics. In these areas, his work has been focused on developing methodologies that make it possible to quantify the importance of information that companies and workers are able to access in their economic decision-making.
Personal statement of Dr. Eduardo Morales:
“My line of research is focused on international trade and, in particular, examining companies’ internationalisation strategies. I have also worked in urban economics and applied econometrics. In all areas of my research I focus on understanding the extent to which the assumptions, that we make as economists about the information that economic agents have when they take their business decisions, influence the conclusions of our analyses, and how far we might scale back these kinds of assumptions”.
“The capacity of companies to be more productive and achieve greater success in foreign markets depends, fundamentally, on two variables: investment in innovation and development, and their ability to obtain information about the nature of competitors and consumers in different markets”.
“Economics currently plays an important role when it comes to solving the problems faced by our society. In particular, economics develops a series of instruments for use in data analysis and, today, with the ever-increasing number of databases for every aspect of social life, I believe that economics should play an important role when it comes to analysing that data and learning from it”.
“Awards of this kind play an important role in giving visibility to the research that we are doing. As social researchers, we always aspire to have an impact on society and to be able to solve the social problems that confront us. And recognition of this kind plays an important role in connecting us with those social problems”.
