Overview

The Hirschman Prize is the highest honor of the Social Science Research Council. It recognizes excellence in social and behavioral science in the tradition of Albert O. Hirschman’s pioneering research. Exploring theory and practice, the history of ideas—economic, social, or political—and innovative approaches to fostering growth, Hirschman saw scholarship both as a tool for social change and as an inherent value in a world in need of better understanding. He wrote in ways that help social science effectively inform public affairs. His work stands as an exemplar of the policy-relevant, interdisciplinary knowledge that the Council seeks to develop.

The recipient of the 2022 Hirschman Prize is Edward Glaeser, the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics and Chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University. Professor Glaeser presented the Albert O. Hirschman Lecture, entitled “The Connecting Machine: Cities in the Rich and Poor World”, at the Institute for Advanced Study on December 7, 2022. 

Past recipients include James C. Scott, Dani Rodrik, Charles Tilly, Benedict Anderson, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Amartya Sen, and Sheila Jasanoff.