EACES Doctoral Award 2026
The best doctoral dissertation in Comparative Economic Systems
The European Association for Comparative Economic Studies (EACES) invites every two years proposals for the EACES Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the fields of comparative economics. The award is given to the work that in the opinion of the jury has the greatest potential to impact the field of comparative economic studies in the future. Both theoretical and empirical contributions are appropriate.
We are now welcoming submissions of doctoral dissertations in the fields of comparative economics defended in years 2024 and 2025. EACES will award the EACES 2026 Doctoral Award, for the best of the doctoral dissertations submitted, during the 19th Biennial Conference that will take place in Barcelona, between July 16 and July 18, 2026.
The winner will receive a prize of €1500, free EACES membership for two years, and a waiver of the conference fee. A short presentation – in person – of the work by the winner at the conference is mandatory. Cost of travel/accommodation are covered by the prize money.
Submissions
To be eligible for the EACES award 2024, the doctoral dissertation must have been accepted for the degree of PhD (or equivalent in continental Europe) between January 2024 and December 2025. The deadline for submissions is 31st March 2026, and the winner will be notified no later than May 1, 2026.
Applications should be sent by e-mail to the address given below and include:
- a CV in English;
- an abstract in English of no more than 15 pages (1.5-spaced, incl. exhibits);
- the full text of the dissertation in English.
Furthermore, applicants must arrange for a
- nomination letter by one of the supervisors/examiners of the thesis.
The nomination letter must specify when and where the dissertation has been accepted and must be sent directly from the supervisor/examiner. It should also contain a substantial evaluation of the research.
Applications and nomination letters should be sent via e-mail as pdf document(s) to the EACES secretary, Karine Torosyan (International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University – ISET); e-mail: k.torosyan@iset.ge
Submission hints
Applicants are asked to make sure that the abstract specifies:
(i) the theoretical or empirical literature to which the thesis is contributing;
(ii) the main contribution made;
(iii) details of the methodology and, if applicable, data set(s) employed;
(iv) the publications or status of submission of parts of the dissertation, if any;
(v) the person that has been asked to send the nomination letter mentioned above.
Past winners and their dissertations
2024: Denis Ivanov (Corvinus University). The Political Consequences of Socio-Economic Inequality.
2022: Natalia Kryg (University College London and EBRD). Bank Performance and Stability.
2021: Peter Howard Jones (University of Bournemouth). The Influence of the Washington Consensus Programme on the Transitional Economies of Eastern Europe – a firm level micro economic analysis.
2018: Sonja Avlijas (PhD from London School of Economics) Explaining variation in female labour force participation across Eastern Europe: The political economy of industrial upgrading and service transition
2016: Thomas Lambert (Joint PhD from UC Louvain and Université Lille 2) Essays on the political economy of finance
2014: Gabriel Burdín (PhD from the University of Siena) Essays on Worker-Managed Firms
2012: Bjoern Jindra (PhD from the University of Sussex) Internationalisation Theory and Technological Accumulation. Investigation of multinational affiliates in East Germany
2010: Roman Horváth (PhD from Charles University Prague) Empirical essays on monetary economics
2008: Sanjaya Acharya (PhD from Erasmus University Rotterdam) Pro-poor growth and liberalisation: CGE Policy modelling for Nepal
2006: Bruno Merleverde (PhD from University of Gent) The Effects of Economic Reform and Foreign Direct Investment on the Domestic Economy and the Domestic Companies of Central and Eastern European Transition Countries
2004: Balazs Egert (PhD from Université de Paris X – Nanterre) Le taux de change réel dans la transition des pays d’Europe centrale et orientale; Aspects théoriques et empiriques
2002: Daniel Piazolo (PhD from University of Kiel) The Integration Process between Eastern and Western Europe
2000: Katharina Mueller (PhD from University Viadrina, Frankfurt/Oder) The Political Economy of Pension Reform in Central-Eastern Europe
1998: Klaus Meyer (PhD from London Business School) Determinants of Direct Foreign Investment in Central and Eastern Europe
1996: Bert van Selm (PhD from University of Groningen) The Economics of Soviet Break-up
1994: Wim Swaan (PhD from University of Amsterdam) Behaviour and Institutions under Economic Reform. Price Regulation and Market Behaviour in Hungary