The Royal Economic Society is pleased to announce that a judging panel has awarded this year’s RES Medal for Services to the Economics Profession to Prof Sir Richard Blundell. The medal recognises an individual who has made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the economics profession in one or more of three dimensions: promoting economics; supporting economists; improving diversity. Prof Sir Richard Blundell will receive his medal at this year’s RES Annual Conference in Newcastle.
Richard Blundell is Ricardo Professor of Political Economy at UCL and Founding Director of the ESRC Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy at the IFS. Blundell is a Fellow of the RES, and a Life Vice-President. He formed part of the panel discussion at the British Academy commemorating economic developments during the Her Late Majesty’s seventy-year reign. Blundell presented the Past Presidential address at the 2013 RES Annual Conference.
RES President Prof Imran Rasul, who chaired this year’s award panel said:
“Richard Blundell represents the very best of academic economists – over four decades, he has made exceptional contributions to promoting economics and supporting economists in the UK. His research has impacted many core areas of economic policy – such as the design of the tax and benefit system, labour productivity and the causes and consequences of economic inequalities.
As a former President of the RES and other learned societies, he has shown a longstanding commitment to strengthen the institutional foundations of the discipline. He has been a PhD advisor to countless students, and played an instrumental role at IFS in creating a world leading research centre for applied economic policy analysis, establishing a deep culture of support for junior researchers. I congratulate Richard on this well-deserved prize and thank him for his tireless work over the years – few can match the breadth, depth and longevity of his contributions to UK economics.”