Dr. Joan Monràs, Research Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Professor of Economics at the Pompeu Fabra University, has been awarded the 22nd Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Economic Research for his innovative research in the field of immigration.

The jury of this edition, chaired by Teresa Garcia-Milà, highlighted the innovative contributions of Dr. Monràs which “demonstrate that the effects of immigration depend not only on the interaction of immigrants with established residents in the labour market, but also on the housing and consumer markets, and on their net tax contributions”. She adds that “the distinction he makes between short- and long-term effects has made it possible to reconcile previous, seemingly contradictory evidence about the effects of immigration on different workers and places.”

Dr. Joan Monràs’ lines of research are focused on the fields of labour economics, urban economics and international trade. He has published his work in prestigious international journals such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy and the Journal of Labor Economics. His articles examine the effect of immigration on the labour market and how local economies adjust to economic shocks and policy changes. He has also studied how immigration and racial disparities affect the geographical distribution of economic activity.

Dr. Monràs has received various awards and scholarships, such as the Ramón y Cajal scholarship, the Ramón Areces Foundation grant, the Upjohn Institute Early Career Research award, the Young Labour Economist prize awarded by the European Association of Labour Economists (EALE), and the Excellence in Refereeing Award of the Review of Economic Studies.

“Most of the projects undertaken by economics researchers are very long-term, as they attempt to build a complete and in-depth view of the phenomena that we study. Receiving this award is an incentive to continue dedicating time and effort so as to understand the world around us and try to contribute to economic research in the most constructive way possible” stated Dr. Monràs.

The Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Economic Research, which receives applications every year since 2002, aims to foster and recognise the work of Spanish researchers in the fields of economics, business and social sciences, and to contribute to the analysis and creation of new alternatives that promote social welfare.

This award, given out annually by the Banco Sabadell Foundation, along with the Biomedical Research Award, the Science and Engineering Award, and the recently created Award for Marine Sustainability, form part of the commitment undertaken by the Banco Sabadell Foundation to promote research and education, with a particular interest in developing young talent.

Josep Oliu, Chairman of Banco Sabadell, presented the award in a ceremony held at the Banco Sabadell Oviedo regional office on 4 October 2023.

Dr. Joan Monràs – Biography and research lines

Joan Monràs is Research Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Professor of Economics at the Pompeu Fabra University (on leave of absence). Before relocating to San Francisco, Joan was a Kenen Fellow at Princeton University and Professor of Economics at CEMFI (Madrid) and Sciences Po (Paris).  He is also a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), associate researcher at CREI (centre for international economic research where he is currently on leave of absence) and associate professor at the Barcelona School of Economics (on leave of absence). Joan obtained his PhD in Economics from Columbia University in 2014. He also holds a Master’s degree in economics from the Pompeu Fabra University, a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and has a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Barcelona.

Joan Monràs’ research is focused on understanding labour mobility, particularly geographic mobility, and how this contributes to spatial equilibrium. His research falls within the fields of labour economics, urban economics and international trade. His research is predominantly based on empirical evidence, although he often uses models to guide his empirical research or to quantify the statistical significance of his research or analyse counterfactuals.

Jury of the XXII Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Economic Research

The Award jury is chaired by Dr. Teresa Garcia-Milà and made up of Dr. Javier Andrés, Dr. Antonio Cabrales, Dr. Natalia Fabra, Dr. Nagore Iriberri, Dr. Núria Mas, Dr. Diego Puga and Dr. Marta Reynal-Querol.