Economic Science Association (ESA) announced the 2025 winners, along with their latest fellows.
In an email to members, the Economic Science Association presented three 2025 awards and five academics named the latest Fellows. This email was shared by his Alvin Ross Market Design Blogand by University of Pittsburghits faculty member Lise Vesterlund was elected a fellow.
We are pleased to announce the 2025 ESA Award winners and the latest companions from the Economic Science Association. These awards recognize those who have made significant contributions to our field through research, service, mentoring and leadership.
2025 ESA Distinguished Service Award
The award honors those who have played exceptional roles in managing and growing ESAs over the course of their careers. In 2025, we are proud to recognize two extraordinary recipients.
Professor Yang Chen
Professor Chen served as president of ESA from 2015 to 2017. She founded our mentoring program and served as director of the ESA mentoring program, the role she served until 2024. Through her efforts, hundreds of early career researchers benefited from the mentorship panel and helped shape the next generation of experimental economists.
Professor Katherine Eckel
Professor Eckel served as ESA president from 2017 to 2019. Of her many contributions, she played a fundamental role in establishing our ethics program and became the first Ethics Officer at the ESA. She is a dedicated mentor and advocate for junior scholars. Her leadership has helped make ESA a more inclusive and welcoming community for researchers at every stage of their career.
2025 ESA Young Scholar Award
The award recognizes young scholars who have made important methodological contributions to experimental economics. Candidates must be under the age of 40, have an undiscovered position, or have within 10 years of graduating from graduate school. We are excited to announce our recipients for 2025.
Professor Christine Exley
Professor Exley has been recognized for his research on motivational reasoning, charitable contributions and gender. Her work stands out in innovative experimental designs, pushing the boundaries of ways in which behavior is studied in complex social contexts.
2025 ESA Excellence Award
The award honors researchers who have overcome unusually challenging situations to make an influential contribution to experimental economics. We are extremely pleased to announce the following of the 2025 awards:
Professor Erin Kruppka
Professor Kulpka is widely known for his impressive work on social norms, including the development of incentive norm-inducing techniques that have become the cornerstone of the field.
2025 ESA Fellow
The designation of ESA Fellows is intended to recognize the lifelong contributions of ESA members who have advanced the frontiers of economics knowledge using laboratory and/or field experiments. The designation of an individual as an ESA fellow is intended as a lasting recognition of his contributions to experimental science and economics. As an ESA Fellow, I am pleased to welcome the next well-known professor.
- Mark Isaac
- Rosemary Nagel
- Robert Sagden
- Lise Vesterlund
- James Walker
Their work has greatly shaped experimental economics and continues to inspire researchers across generations.
The winners and fellows were selected by the 2025 ESA Awards Committee.
Image credits: University of Michigan / Texas A&M University / ESA / University of Michigan / University of Michigan
