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Klaus Zimmermann (centre) and Elias Papaioannou (third right) were the inaugural winners of the EIB prize.

The EIB Prize was awarded by President Werner Hoyer and Nobel Prize winner Professor Christopher A. Pissarides, chair of the jury. Launched this year, the EIB Prize was created by the EIB Institute to recognise and stimulate excellence in economic and social research and promote its implementation and diffusion.

The EIB Prize will be awarded annually and consists of an “Outstanding Contribution Award” of EUR 40 000 and a “Young Economist Prize” of EUR 25 000. The first EIB Prize was awarded to two candidates in recognition of their research on the topic of the prize: “Growth, employment and convergence, with applications to the European Union”. This year’s “Outstanding Contribution Award” went to Prof. Dr Klaus F. Zimmermann from the University of Bonn and Director of the Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA). Prof. Dr Elias Papaioannou, from the London Business School, received the 2013 “Young Economist Prize”.

“The EIB pledges to support economic and social cohesion, convergence, growth and employment through public policy-driven lending. I am therefore particularly glad to award the EIB Prize to Prof. Zimmermann and Prof. Papaioannou who, through their strong commitment to their research work on growth and employment, have made an outstanding contribution to the efforts to move European economic policies forward. As Europe grapples with achieving recovery and advancing strategies to avoid future crises, we are grateful for all the important work, such as that of Prof. Zimmermann and Prof. Papaioannou, which brings about a better, more financially stable Europe. Thank you Professors”, said EIB President Werner Hoyer at the award ceremony held in the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw.

During the award ceremony Prof. Zimmermann delivered a lecture on the mobility challenge for growth and integration in Europe. Prof. Papaioannou spoke about financial regulation, banking integration and synchronization of the business cycle.