Statement of the IZA Prize Committee

The 2012 IZA Prize in Labor Economics is awarded to Richard Blundell (University College London and Institute for Fiscal Studies) for his path-breaking contributions to the econometric analysis of labor markets and public-policy reforms. Professor Blundell has played a major role in the development of modern labor and policy analysis. His work is characterized by a focus on pressing questions in economic policy, the development of cutting-edge econometric methods to tackle such questions, and painstaking analysis of micro data. Blundell’s contributions laid the foundations for the modern economic analysis of labor supply, consumer behavior, and policy reforms. His work has been hugely influential for the worldwide debates about tax and welfare reforms during the past decades.

The annual IZA prize, awarded since 2002, is given for outstanding academic achievement in the field of labor economics. Past winners include Jacob Mincer, Dale Mortensen, Christopher Pissarides, David Card, Fran Blau and George Borjas.