Two Members of the Department of Economics Elected to the Institut universitaire de France (IUF)

Each year, the Institut universitaire de France (IUF), whose mission is to promote the development of high-level university research and strengthen interdisciplinarity, selects new members following a highly competitive application process.

The required qualifications include a track record of excellence in basic research and innovation, criteria notably demonstrated by success in European grant competitions. 

Selected researchers must also demonstrate their commitment to science outreach, in order to support the training of young researchers and, more broadly, to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge to the widest possible audience.

This year, two researchers from the Department of Economics at Sciences Po will join the IUF’s Fundamental Chairholders in October 2026.

• Jean-Marc Robin, Professor of Economics and member of the IUF since 2019, had his appointment renewed for the second time. His research in the field of microeconometrics focuses primarily on the matching mechanisms between two types of agents, which he applies in particular to the labour market and marriage. How do agents (job seekers and employers, or two people seeking to form a couple) find one another? Under what conditions can they match, and what benefits do they gain from this pairing? 
  
  The scientific excellence of his work is evidenced notably by the Frisch Medal, which he received in 2006, and two ERC Advanced Grants awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) following a highly competitive selection process. In 2024, he was elected President of the Econometric Society.
   
• Clément Imbert, Professor of Economics, is a development economist with a focus on rural-urban migration, labour markets and social protection. His research covers a variety of contexts, including Belgium, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, France, and India.  After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Nuffield College and the University of Oxford, he served as a professor at the University of Warwick before joining Sciences Po.
  
  Since April 2025, he has been working as a partner on a project supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) Preserving African Forests alongside Economic Development – AfrForDev.  Funding from the IUF will allow him to develop his work on climate migration in Sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil, and India.

Jean-Marc Robin and Clément Imbert are both fellows of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, a leading European association. Appointed for a five-year term, they join the twenty or so Sciences Po academics who have become part of this community of excellence.

Learn more about the IUF (website in French).