The Jan Söderberg Family Prize in Economics and Management

2020 year recipient of The Jan Söderberg Family Prize in Economics and Management

Professor Nathan Nunn is the second recipient of The Jan Söderberg Family Prize in Economics and Management. He asks questions such as: Why are societies and cultures different? Why are some more economically successful than others?

In his research, Nunn examines the effects that historical events and factors have on subsequent societal outcomes. The quantitative analysis includes the use of historical data, often from archival sources, or anthropological fieldwork, which are then linked to later outcomes.

”His creative use of data from the past and present made him a perfect laurate for our prize, since it is awarded to work that has renewed the research field,” says Fredrik Andersson, dean at Lund University School of Economics and Management, as well as chair of the prize committee.

The prize was to be awarded during a ceremony at the School of Economics and Management on 25 March 2020. However, we are sorry to inform you, that the prize ceremony for the Jan Söderberg Family Prize in Economics and Management 25 March hereby is postponed. The Economics & Management Day 26 March is also postponed. The reason for this is that the laureate Nathan Nunn no longer will be able to travel from the USA to Europe due to the Coronavirus.

Unfortunately, this means that we are moving the award ceremony with related activities approximately one year ahead. (updated 11 March 2020)

Read more about Professor Nathan Nunn (press release)

About the Prize

The Jan Söderberg Family Prize in Economics and Management will award SEK 1 million to a leading international scholar in the field of Economics and Management. The majority of the prize money, 80 per cent, is intended to support the recipient’s research, primarily to enable the recipient to engage younger researchers as employees. The remainder of the money, 20 per cent, is for the recipient to use as he or she pleases.

The Prize is awarded to a prominent researcher in the field of Economics and Management. The Prize shall be awarded to someone under the age of 50 (born 1969 or later for the 2019 Prize). The basis for nominations and the award is:

The Prize shall be awarded to a person who has made a discovery or contribution within the field of Economics and Management of eminent significance and whose work has demonstrably renewed research and application in its domain.

The recipient of the prize will be selected through international competition and proposed in a nomination process at the Lund University School of Economics and Management. The recipient will be appointed by a committee.

The award ceremony

The Prize shall always be awarded at the Lund University School of Economics and Management, at an event that includes a lecture by the recipient of the prize, as well as a formal award ceremony.

The Prize is to be awarded in the early spring. The inaugural prize is next awarded on 25 March 2020 and is followed by a day of popular science lectures.

The Economics and Management Day in Lund

The day after the award ceremony we welcome all those interested to a popular science day featuring lectures and talks at the Lund University School of Economics and Management. This year’s theme: Leadership of Tomorrow. Date: 26 March.

Read more about the 2020 Economics and Management Day

Prize Committee

The Prize Committee consists of six members: the donor (Jan Söderberg), the dean of the School (also the chair of the committee) and four members who are to be researchers. All research members have to be at least associate professors and two have to be professors within the field covered by the Prize. One or two should be mainly engaged outside of the Lund University School of Economics and Management. One of the members is to be a working member. The four members are appointed by the dean of the School, after consulting with the donor, the group of department heads at the School and the chair of the Senior Corporate Advisory Board at the School.

The Prize Committee for the 2020 Prize consists of:

• Fredrik Andersson, dean and professor, chair of the committee
• Jan Söderberg, entrepreneur, one of the inaugurators of the Prize
• Cristina Chaminade, professor, Department of Economic History, LUSEM
• Frédéric Delmar, Emlyon Business School, and visiting professor of entrepreneurship, LUSEM
• Merle Jacob, professor, Department of Business Administration, LUSEM
• Erik Wengström, professor, Department of Economics, LUSEM, working member of the committee

Nominations

All professors or associate professors at the School as well as all members of the Prize Committee were invited to nominate recipients of the 2020 Prize.