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Remembering Toni: Gifted Researcher, Admired Teacher, and Irreplaceable Friend and Colleague
On November 3rd, BSE Affiliated Professor Antoni Calvó-Armengol died unexpectedly at his home in Barcelona. A very talented microeconomist with a dynamic character and influential research, he will be sorely missed by all in the Barcelona Economics community.
Professor Calvó-Armengol is well known for his research in social networks in economics. An example of his approach to research is his work on the effects of social networks on employment and inequality, joint with Michael O. Jackson of Stanford University. The two researchers demonstrated, among other things, that the probability of obtaining a job decreases in the length of time that the worker has been unemployed.
His research earned him substantial recognition. In 1999 he received the Young Economist Award from the European Economic Association. In August of 2007, he was informed that he had passed to the second round of the selection process for the prestigious Young Researcher Grants of the European Research Council, the results of which were still pending at the date of his passing.
BSE Affiliated Professor Toni Calvó in his office at the UAB
Born in 1970, Professor Calvó-Armengol completed his education in engineering at l'Ecole Polytechnique and l'Ecole de Ponts, both in Paris. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in Economics in 2000 from Universitat Pompeu Fabra and CERAS-ENPC (European Doctoral Program).
Since 2005, he had been ICREA Senior Research Professor at the Department of Economics and Economic History (UFAE) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, one of the BSE’s founding institutions. He had been Research Affiliate at CEPR (Labor Program and Industrial Organization Program) in London since 2004 and Associate Editor of the Journal of the European Economic Association since 2005.
Apart from his passion for research, Professor Calvó-Armengol earned a reputation as a caring and accessible teacher and advisor, demonstrating an exceptional commitment to the development and success of his students. In 2002, he was elected by students as among the four best professors at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. At the UAB, he taught courses at the undergraduate, master, and doctoral levels, and acted as Ph.D. supervisor to numerous students.
Born in 1970 in Les Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra, Professor Calvó-Armengol was proud of his roots and enthusiastic to spread knowledge about the language, history, and culture of Andorra. On his professional website, curious visitors can access a page devoted to facts and links about Andorra. From 2001 to 2007, he was appointed non-resident Ambassador of the Principality of Andorra to the Republic of Portugal. In 2006, he was appointed non-resident Ambassador of the Principality of Andorra to Switzerland and to the international organizations in Geneva.
The BSE and all its members express their deep condolences to the family for this grievous loss.
Find out about the Calvó-Armengol International Prize, established in Toni's honor