Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada

My main research lies in the field of economics of wellbeing with the use of self-reported questions to understand the determinants of wellbeing as well as individuals’ preferences behavior and the impact of (public) policy and decisions for individuals’ quality of life. I have also contributed to the literature of health economics and income inequality, using self-reported attitudinal questions, including personality measures and risk preferences. My research has included relative concerns (income comparison to others), use of long-run panel data to estimate the importance of the context (unemployment in the region, inequality, policy reforms, etc.) for wellbeing and preferences.

I am a Tenured Scientist at the IAE since 2009 and the coordinator of the "Society" Scientific Area of the CSIC since April 2023. Since December 2012 I am the chair of the Barcelona School of Economics (BSE) Academic Program Committee, and I was the director of the Economics of Public Policy master program (BSE) from 2016 to July 2023. I am also IZA Research fellow since June 2009. Before joining the IAE I was at the University of Amsterdam.

I hold one PhD from the Tinbergen Institute, University of Amsterdam (“Quantitative analysis of well-being with economic applications”, advisor: Prof. B.M.S. van Praag, January 2023) and a second one from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY (“Consumption, behavior, and the environment: Theoretical and empirical dimensions.”, advisor: Prof. J. Gowdy, May 2023).

My academic papers have been cited 14287 times, with 20 articles cited 100 times or more (Google Scholar, 17 January 2025). I have advised policy makers and private institutions, including the Catalan Government (Office of Foresight and Strategy) and the World Bank. I was awarded the 2022 ISQOLS Research Fellow Award for substantial contribution to Quality-Of-Life research (International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies). I was appointed the director of the World Well-Being Panel from April 2020 to June 2023 (I am panelist of if since 2016). My research has been financed by Spanish and Catalan Ministry Grants, and I have secured competitive projects financed by international organizations or private foundations. In January 2025 I was awarded a “La Caixa” Flash Call.