The Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB) and the Miquel y Costas Foundation have signed an agreement that will allow the economic research centre to boost its activity and further strengthen its position as a benchmark in areas such as energy sustainability, infrastructure, public policies, fiscal federalism, tax systems, urban economics and the gender gap.

The agreement is based on the objectives shared by the two institutions in relation to progress and social development. In the case of the Miquel y Costas Foundation, this objective is expressed as the improvement of the economic, educational, cultural and social conditions of the people and groups most in need, especially among the younger generations. One of its main focuses is the promotion of environmental sustainability based on sustainable development and social responsibility.

The activities deriving from the research programmes of the IEB Foundation aim to generate knowledge that is useful to society and that can guide public decision-making, and thus help to achieve the social progress desired by all. Jordi Mercader has highlighted the commitment of the Miquel y Costas Foundation to economic research as a way of “creating knowledge to take up the challenges we face as a society. These are complex times and it is more necessary than ever to look to the academic world in order to promote debate that will lead us to the best decisions in terms of economic and social policies”.

The collaboration with the Miquel y Costas Foundation will allow the IEB to promote activities in all its areas and, according to Martí Parellada, president of the IEB, “it means incorporating a business reference into the entity that will undoubtedly make an important contribution to a project like ours in which the public sector, the private sector and the University join forces”.