The economist Robin Boadway, one of the world’s leading experts in fiscal federalism and optimal taxation, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Barcelona, on the proposal of UB professor and IEB researcher Alejandro Esteller Moré. In the laudatio, Esteller described Boadway as “a top-level theoretical researcher on public finances, who also has a great capacity for dealing with aspects of applied economics”. Esteller also stressed Boadway’s “great leadership and commitment” noting that he had been guest speaker at the first Workshop on Fiscal Federalism organized by the IEB in 2005.

Robin Boadway is the David Chadwick Smith Professor of Economics Emeritus at Queen’s University, Canada. He is a renowned economist specializing in public finance, a discipline in which, according to the IDEAS ranking based on several impact indicators, he is among the top 10% of researchers in the world. Boadway’s research focuses on fiscal federalism, optimal taxation theory, cost-benefit analysis, and the welfare state and the provision of public goods.

He has been president of the Canadian Economics Association and the International Institute of Public Finance, as well as editor of various academic journals, including the Journal of Public Economics, the reference academic publication in the field of public finance. In addition to academic research, he has carried out advisory work collaborating with, among other institutions, the Economic Council of Canada, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the OECD. His books include Public Sector Economics, Welfare Economics, Canadian tax policy, Intergovernmental fiscal relations in Canada, Fiscal Federalism: Principles and Practice of Multiorder Governance and From Optimal Tax Theory to Tax Policy.