Social Science Activities

Applied Social Sciences

Auctions: Basic science at the service of public and private management

Economists Juan José Ganuza, from Pompeu Fabra University, and Ángel Hernando-Veciana, from Durham University Business School, analyzed the contributions of the 2020 Nobel Laureates in Economics, Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson, on their contributions to the auction theory and its design innovations. Luisa Fuster, First Vice President of the Spanish Association of Economics and Professor at the Carlos III University, acted as moderator. Both experts agreed in stating that "auctions have revolutionized the management of public resources and also the allocation of assets in many other areas."  

Cities, development, and globalization

Saskia Sassen, Professor at Columbia University and Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, assured that more than a compilation of States, the world is articulated on a network of metropolitan areas. Cities should work as platforms to generate innovations that are later introduced in the poorest areas or that pass from those large cities to smaller cities. Regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) proposed by the United Nations Organization, he commented that "we are going to have to change a certain type of construction and move towards greater sustainability." Professor Sassen was introduced by Emilio Lamo de Espinosa, President of the Elcano Royal Institute, for whom globalization has united certain social sectors, but has separated others.