The Vilfredo Pareto Prize, established by the EUI Department of Economics, honours Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian sociologist, economist, political scientist, and philosopher who lived and worked in Florence and Fiesole between 1882 and 1892 and is considered one of the pioneers of modern scientific research in economics.
The prize is awarded annually for the best doctoral thesis in economics defended at the EUI in the 12 months preceding the Conferring Ceremony.
Adrian Wicht has been awarded this year's Vilfredo Pareto Prize for the Best Doctoral Thesis in Economics for his dissertation, On the Role of Lenders in Sovereign Debt Crises, defended under the supervision of Professors Ramon Marimon and Alexander Monge-Naranjo.
Between 2018 and 2023, Adrien Wicht was exposed to the lively research environment of Villa La Fonte, home to the EUI Department of Economics, preparing himself for a research and academic career in economics. During these years, Wicht has been a key player in contributing to making Villa La Fonte an engaging and stimulating research environment.
His PhD thesis is an excellent example of ‘policy-oriented basic research in social sciences’, in the spirit of Pareto's work. In fact, a recurring theme throughout his thesis is the quest for Pareto efficient contracts, between sovereign countries in stress and official lenders, subject to enforcement and incentive constraints, and contrasting the novel theory with the experience of developing euro area countries.
"This is a superb thesis," writes Professor Mark Aguiar (Princeton University), leading ‘sovereign debt’ scholar and a member of Wicht's PhD thesis committee.
Wicht is currently a post-doctoral researcher in international economics at the University of Basel.