A paper by Frédéric Docquier, in partnership with David de la Croix, Alice Fabre and Robert Stelter, has been awarded the 2026 Hicks–Tinbergen Award, presented by the European Economic Association for the best article published in the Journal of the European Economic Association over the previous two years.
The article, The Academic Market and the Rise of Universities in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, uses comprehensive biographical database of academics to uncover how the European academic market functioned between 1000 and 1800. The study highlights an integrated and meritocratic system in which scholars were highly mobile across universities, helping lay the foundations for Europe’s long-run knowledge expansion.
The award will be presented during the EEA-ESEM Congress at University College Dublin in August 2026.







