Lluís Fina i Sanglàs (1942-2000) was one of the pioneers in the evolution and progress of labour economics in Spain. He developed his professional career in the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and the Department of Applied Economics of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona as an associate professor.

He was a tireless promoter of ideas, publications and even associations related to the labour market, which he believed had to be studied from a broad perspective. He considered historical, sociological, legal and economic aspects to be fundamental in the study of a market as unique as the labour market. In addition, he was convinced that all academic activity made no sense without practical action and true social and economic impact. In his view, the final goal of any academic research is to help with the correct functioning of the labour market by advising policymakers on the design of policies and institutions. With his death, we lost not only a good person but also an advocate of rigorous research, someone who was open to different ideas and clear about his ultimate goal: to help improve everyone’s living and working conditions.

To keep his spirit alive, the Science Committee of the Jornadas de Economía Laboral and some of his close colleagues launched the Lluís Fina Prize in 2003. Its main purpose is to honour and, especially, to further his approach to labour market analysis.

Terms and Conditions of the XII Lluís Fina Prize

  • 1.The aim of the prize is to recognize both theoretical and applied research excellence in the field of labour economics.

  • 2.Only works published in the year 2023 are eligible.

  • 3.Applicants must submit an article-length work formatted for publishing in academic journals. Book chapters in collective works will also be accepted provided their research contribution is unique in terms of new results produced by the author(s). Complete books or PhD theses will not be accepted.

  • 4.There are no restrictions on the number of authors a paper may have. Nevertheless, individual works by young researchers will be positively valued. In the case of collective works, the prize will be awarded to all of the authors.

  • 5.The scope of analysis for applied research should be the Spanish labour market (at the state, regional or local level) or the European labour market.

  • 6.There is no limitation on the language used in the work or its length.

  • 7.The winning paper will be selected by a prize committee of three leading independent labour economists appointed by the management board of the AEET. The members of the prize committee are not eligible for the award.

  • 8.A single work will be awarded, although the prize committee may consider awarding a second prize or leaving it vacant.

  • 9.In the event of a draw, priority will be given to authors that have not previously been awarded the Lluís Fina Prize.

  • 10.The prize, including possible second prizes, will consist of 3000 euros, from which the corresponding statutory tax will be deducted.
  • 11.The award ceremony will be held during the Gala Dinner of the XVI JEL.

  • 12. For the paper to be eligible, at least one of the authors must be registered at the XVI JEL.

  • 13.The deadline for submitting papers is May 16th, 2024. Works must be sent to aeetrabajo@gmail.com with “LLUIS FINA PRIZE” in the subject line. Files should be in either .doc or .pdf format (please submit one single file containing text, figures, tables and appendices).

List of recipients of the prize Lluís Fine

  • XII AWARD (2024) (Funded by the AEET)

    First award:

    Jonas Jessen (IZA, IAB, Berlin School of Economics & DIW Berlin, Germany), Sophia Schmitz (Federal Institute for Population Research, Germany) and Felix Weinhardt (European University Viadrina, Berlin School of Economics, DIW Berlin, IZA, CESifo, Germany & CEP at LSE, UK) for the paper entitled «Immigration, female labour supply and local cultural norms», published in The Economic Journal, Vol. 134, Issue 659, Pages 1146–1172, 2024.

    Second award:

    José García-Louzao (Bank of Lithuania, Vilnius University, and CESifo), Laura Hospido (Banco de España and IZA) y Alessandro Ruggieri (University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom) for the paper entitled «Dual returns to experience», published in Labour Economics, Volume 80, 2023, 102290.

  • XI AWARD (2022) (Funded by the AEET)

    Samuel Nocito (Sapienza University of Rome) por el trabajo titulado «The effect of a university degree in English on international labor mobility«, publicado en Labour Economics, Vol. 68, 2021, 101943.

  • X PRIZE (2021) (Funded by the AEET)

    First award:

    Tomi Kyyrä (VATT Institute for Economic Research in Helsinki), Joseph M. Arranz (University of Alcalá) and Carlos García-Serrano (University of Alcalá) for the work entitled "Does subsidized part-time employment help unemployed workers to find full-time employment?", published in Labour Economics, Vol.56, 2019, pp.68-83.

    Second award:

    Manuel Flores (International university of Catalonia), Melchor Fernández (University of Santiago de Compostela) and Yolanda Pena-Boquete (University of Santiago de Compostela) for the work entitled "The impact of health on wages: Evidence from Europe before and during the Great Recession" published in Oxford Economic Papers, Vol 72(2), 2020, 319-346.

  • IX PRIZE (2019) (Co-financed by the Autonomous University of Barcelona and by the AEET)

    Lorenzo Cappellari (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) and Antonio Di Paolo (Autonomous university of Barcelona) for the work entitled "Bilingual schooling and earnings: evidence from a language-in-education reform", published in Economics of Education Review, Vol. 64, 2018, pp. 90-101

  • VIII AWARD (2017) (Funded by the Fundación Juan Urrutia)

    Rodolfo G. Campos (Bank of Spain), and : Illiana Reggio (Universitat de Girona) for the work entitled “Consumption in the shadow of unemployment,” published in European Economic Review Vol. 78, 2015, pp.39-45.

  • VII PRIZE (2015) (Funded by the Fundación Juan Urrutia and the Department of Applied Economics I, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

    Mary Cervini-Plá (University of Girona), Xavier Ramos (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), and José I. Silva (Universitat de Girona) for the work entitled “Wage Effects of Non-wage Labour Costs”, published in European Economic Review Vol. 72, 2014, pp. 113-137.

  • VI PRIZE (2013) (Funded by the Fundación Juan Urrutia)

    First award:
    Patricia Suarez (University of Oviedo), Matías Mayor (University of Oviedo) Begoña Cueto (University of Oviedo) for the work entitled “The accessibility to employment offices in the Spanish labour market”, published in Papers in Regional Science, volume 91, no. 4, pp. 823-848, 2012.

    Second award:
    Elisabet Motellón (Universitat de Barcelona), Enrique López-Bazo (Universitat de Barcelona) and Mayssun El-Attar (Universitat de Barcelona) for the work entitled “Regional heterogeneity in wage distributions: evidence from Spain”, published in Journal of Regional Science, volume 51, no. 3, pp. 558-584, 2011.

  • V AWARD (2011) (Funded by the Ministry of Labour and Immigration)

    Hipólito Simón (University of Alicante) for the work entitled "International differences in wage inequality: a new Glance with European matched employer-employee data", published in British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol 48, no. 2, pp. 310-346, 2010.

  • IV PRIZE (2009) (Funded by the Ministry of Labour and Immigration

    Roberto Bande (University of Santiago de Compostela), Melchor Fernández (University of Santiago de Compostela) and Victor Montuenga (University of Zaragoza) for the work entitled “Regional unemployment in Spain: disparities, business cycle and wage setting”, published in Labour Economics, volume 15, no. 5, pp. 885-914, 2008.

  • III PRIZE (2007) (Funded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs)

    José Ignacio García Pérez (Pablo de Olavide university) and Yolanda Rebollo (Pablo de Olavide university) for the work entitled “Wage changes through job mobility in Europe: a multinomial endogenous switching approach”, published in Labour Economics, volume 12, no. 4, pp. 531-555, 2005.

  • II PRIZE (2005) (Funded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs)

    Juan Ignacio Palacio (University of Castilla-La Mancha) and Hipólito Simón (University of Alicante) for the work entitled “wage Dispersion between institutions and wage inequality in Spain,” published in Journal of Applied Economics, volume XII, no. 36, pp. 47-81, 2004.

  • I AWARD (2003) (Funded by Santander Bank and the Foundation Alternatives).

    Carlos Garcia Serrano (University of Alcalá) and Miguel Ángel Malo (University of Salamanca) for the work entitled “Worker turnover, job turnover and collective bargaining in Spain”, published in British Journal of Industrial Relations, volume 40, no. 1, pp. 69-85, 2002.