Andreu Mas-Colell, an internationally recognised economist leading Catalan economy’s recovery

Barcelona (ACN).- The appointment of Andreu Mas-Colell sends 3 clear messages: international prestige, focus on businesses, and the importance of innovation and research. This veteran economist is a world-renowned figure in microeconomics. Mas-Colell has been professor at Berkeley, Harvard and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Most recently, he was the President of the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics. Mas-Colell has already headed a Ministry within the Catalan Government, during CiU’s last term in office, chaired by Jordi Pujol. Then, Mas-Colell was the Minister for Universities, Research and Information Society (1999-2003).

Andreu Mas-Colell puts his international prestige and experience at the service of the Catalan economy’s recovery. He will combine 3 different areas: defining the main economic policies, managing the Catalan Government’s budget and directing the university, research and innovation policies. Merging these three areas and putting Mas-Colell in charge of them sends a strong message and puts a clear stress on innovation.

Mas-Colell is 66 years old and one of the most widely recognised experts in microeconomics in the world. He was Professor of Economics at Harvard University between 1981 and 1996. Previously, he had been Professor of Economics and Mathematics at the University of California (Berkeley), between 1972 and 1980. He came back to Barcelona in 1996 and since then he has served as Professor of Economics at the University of Barcelona. He is also President of the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics. Mas-Colell is Doctor Honoris Causa at the universities of Alacant (Spain) and Toulouse (France), the Universidad Nacional del Sur (Argentina), and the Haute École de Commerce (Paris).

Mas-Colell was a Board Member of the International Economics Association, President of the European Economics Association (2006) and President of the Spanish Association of Economics. In addition, he was Secretary General of the European Council of Research (2009). In 2005, he was elected Member of the Catalan Studies Institute (the Humanities and Sciences National Academy of Catalonia) and in 2008 he was elected as a Member of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences (the Spanish National Academy on the subject). He was also awarded the King Juan Carlos Award for Economics (1988).

However, Mas-Colell is also well connected to Catalonia’s financial sector. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the La Caixa Study Service (the think tank of the largest Catalan financial institution). He is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Council of Telefónica Investigación y Desarrollo. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Círculo de Economía, a Catalan association of business executives and economists.

Mas-Colell’s academic currículum is extremely extensive. He has written more than 100 articles, ranging from abstract theory on general equilibrium or the financial markets’ structure to price policies for public companies. Many of his works have been translated into several languages. He also co-wrote Microeconomic Theory (1995), a world reference on the subject.