Economics serving society

Institutional History

The Origins of the Paris School of Economics

The creation of the Paris School of Economics is the final chapter of the long gradual process of bringing together and finally merging a number of different research units in Economics. This process started at the end of the 1980s.

1982

Creation of CERAS, the Economics research centre of the ENPC.

1988

Creation of DELTA, from the fusion of the Centre d’Économie Quantitative et Comparative of the EHESS and the Laboratoire d’Économie Politique of the ENS.
A number of different research centres joined DELTA at the Jourdan campus: the Laboratoire d’Économie Appliquée (LEA) of INRA (1998), the Laboratoire des Sciences Sociales of the ENS (1998), CEPREMAP (2001 - created in 1967) and finally CERAS (2002).

2005

Four of the Economics research centres of the Jourdan campus (DELTA, CERAS, and the two separate halves of Cepremap) merge to produce one single research centre, Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques (PSE).
December 1st : Birth of the « Association de Préfiguration de l’Ecole d’Economie de Paris » (the Preliminary Assocation of the Paris School of Economics), which brings together all of the research centres present on the Jourdan campus as well as the future Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne of the University of Paris 1. The director of this Association is Thomas Piketty.

2006

The research centres of the University of Paris 1 merge into one sole research centre, the Centre d’économie de la Sorbonne (CES).
The Centre Maurice Halbwachs, which includes a number of different research centres in Sociology and Anthropology, moves onto the Jourdan campus.

April 18th : The loi de programme pour la recherche creates the concept of Fondations de Coopération Scientifiques (Scientific Research Foundations).

December 21st : A decree creates the Foundation of the Paris School of Economics.

2007

After three years devoted to the creation of PSE, Thomas Piketty chooses to return to research and resigns as Director in April. The new Director is François Bourguignon, former Chief Economist at the World Bank.

2011

The labex “OSE-Opening Economics” led by the Paris School of Economics with numerous scientific and institutionnal partners is selected within the Grand Emprunt.

2013

February the 1st: Pierre-Yves Geoffard is the new PSE Director, right after François Bourguignon.PSE President is Roger Guesnerie.

2015

September 3, Roger Guesnerie, professor at the Collège de France and president of PSE since its creation in December 2006, has left office. Jean-Pierre Danthine, former vice-president of the Swiss National Bank, replaces him at the head of the institution.

2016

21 December 2016 : On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, the PSE - Paris School of Economics is taking stock of its main achievements and giving the floor to its Founders and Alumni, and invites you to join the birthday celebrations. Visit the #10ansPSE webpages.

2017

23 February 2017 : The new ENS-PSE building of more than 12,000 m², situated on the Jourdan campus in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, between the Porte d’Orléans and the Parc Montsouris, opposite the Cité Universitaire, is officially inaugurated by President François Hollande. Also present were the minister for schools and higher education and research Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and president of the Regional Council for the Île de France, Valérie Pécresse. Go the dedicated webpage

2017

The General Commission for Investment presented the winners of the latest component of the Investment for the Future programme (known as PIA3), in the “University research schools” (EUR) category. The project “Paris Graduate School of Economics” proposed by PSE was one of those chosen projects, winning an allocation of 15.8 million euros over the next ten years. In addition to this, for 13 of the 29 winning projects, the government announced the extension of the grants awarded to their Laboratoires d’excellence (LABEX). The PSE is among those winners, too, for its LABEX “OSE – Open up Economics”, granted in March 2011.

2019

At the end of an international recruitment process, led by an ad hoc committee, Jean-Pierre Danthine, president of the PSE Board of Directors has named Jean-Olivier Hairault to head the foundation. He takes up the position in January 2019, succeeding Pierre-Yves Geoffard. Read the press release

2021

Daniel Cohen becomes President of the Board of Directors of PSE.

2024

Esther Duflo becomes President of the Board of Directors of PSE.