Economist Kirk Doran wins UK’s Panmure House Prize honoring interdisciplinary research
Kirk Doran, an associate professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Notre Dame, has won the 2024 Adam Smith Panmure House Prize.
Established in 2021, the prize is named after the forefather of economics and celebrates those who embody his empiricism and long-term interdisciplinary thinking in their research. One of the United Kingdom’s largest academic prizes open to researchers globally, it has been awarded to emerging academic leaders across multiple disciplines, including a business academic, a neurologist and an anthropologist.
“I feel honored and privileged to win the Panmure House Prize. Adam Smith has been an inspiration to me since the first time I began studying social structures and the economy as an undergraduate,” Doran said. “I am particularly inspired by the prize’s aim to explore the relationship between long-term thinking and radical innovation. This is exactly what our current incentive structures both within and outside academia under-incentivize, and that is why Panmure House’s work is so essential here.”
Like Smith, Doran asks fundamental questions that are often hard to find a definitive answer to because they are so overarching. In his research, Doran seeks to identify where and how new knowledge is created in order to ultimately find the cause of long-term per capita economic growth.
Through his subfield of innovation economics, Doran aims to use techniques developed by modern labor economists to answer questions that had been long debated without progress until these techniques were developed. He has applied empirical tactics to measure knowledge generation through bibliometric analysis of interdisciplinary databases — such as papers, patents and medical trials.
His studies find that the development of new knowledge is ultimately based on collaborative relationships in which people inspire and challenge one another.
“We are delighted to see Kirk Doran’s research receive this international recognition,” said John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost. “The Panmure House Prize’s emphasis on long-term, interdisciplinary thinking mirrors the University of Notre Dame’s commitment to scholarly innovation and excellence across the disciplines.”
Doran was one of four finalists from leading global institutions to be considered for the Panmure House Prize. He was supported in pursuing the award by the Office of the Provost and the College of Arts and Letters’ Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts.
With this recognition, Doran plans to continue examining how new knowledge impacts per capita economic growth with a multidisciplinary team. He hopes it will have a policy impact that can benefit productivity.
“I think my research will help to refocus our policy efforts regarding long-term economic growth to the encouragement of deep collaboration among innovative people,” he said. “It is not enough to better educate our workforce or even produce more entrepreneurs, scientists and inventors; such efforts could not possibly produce long-run economic growth unless these individuals enter periods of deep collaboration with each other in the joint production of knowledge.”
Originally published by at al.nd.edu on Oct. 7.
Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu
Latest Faculty & Staff
- Dockworkers reconsider strike that shut down East and Gulf Coast ports: A conversation with supply chain expert Kaitlin WowakThe union representing dockworkers at U.S. ports walked away from the negotiating table with port employers this week over automation concerns as the two sides face a mid-January deadline to finalize a deal and prevent the resumption of a strike. Business Analytics Professor Kaitlin Wowak discusses potential supply chain disruptions.
- When countries hide their true public debt, they hurt themselves, their citizens and their lendersGlobal public debt may soon collectively catch up to the worldwide gross domestic product (GDP), likely matching it by 2030. New research from a Notre Dame economist suggests that this could happen even sooner, thanks to countries’ hidden debts. This misreported debt can lead to higher interest rates for borrowers and lower recovery rates for lenders, suggesting indirect adverse effects on global financial stability and consumer welfare.
- Law School Professor Derek Muller joins CNN as contributor for 2024 presidential electionNationally recognized election law scholar Derek T. Muller, a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Law School, has joined CNN as a contributor for the 2024 election cycle to provide his perspective and context to the network’s coverage of the presidential race.
- In memoriam: Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., renowned Notre Dame theologian, father of ‘liberation theology’Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., professor emeritus of theology at Notre Dame and widely regarded as the “father of liberation theology,” died Tuesday (Oct. 22) in Lima, Peru. He was 96.
- Notre Dame Forum to present ‘Fr. TED Talks’ on Catholic social tradition, featuring President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., and Dr. Jim O’ConnellHonoring the legacy of legendary University of Notre Dame President Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum will host “Fr. TED Talks: Ideas from the Catholic Social Tradition That We Find Inspiring,” a two-night festival on Oct. 28 and 29.
- Democrats and Republicans agree on one thing: Censoring hate speechIn an era of intense polarization, Democrats and Republicans have historically, and mistakenly, believed that members of the other party prioritize protecting certain types or victims of hate speech over others based on stereotypes or their affiliation with those potentially vulnerable groups. New research from the University of Notre Dame, however, revealed that partisans generally agree on what to censor when it comes to the target, source and severity of hate speech.
