Ricardo Caballero wins King of Spain Economics Prize
MIT economist Ricardo Caballero has been awarded the King of Spain Economics Prize for his contributions to macroeconomics and finance. The jury announced the decision on October 8, 2026, marking the 40th anniversary of the biennial €72,000 award.
Risk-centric macroeconomics at MIT
Caballero has served as the Ford International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 2000, following an appointment at Columbia University.
His research focuses on financial crises, international capital flows, safe asset shortages, persistently low interest rates, and the framework of risk-centric macroeconomics.
The award jury highlighted his foundational work analyzing the interaction between real economies and financial markets, which has accumulated more than 40,000 academic citations.
Beyond academia, Caballero has served as an advisor to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
A 40-year Iberian-American legacy
Created by the Fundación José Celma Prieto in 1986, the King of Spain Economics Prize celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
The biennial distinction carries a €72,000 cash endowment alongside a replica of Francisco López Hernández’s sculpture “Mercurio,” honoring careers across Spain and Latin America.
Caballero’s previous honors include the Econometric Society’s Frisch Medal in 2002, the Smith Breeden Prize in 2008, the Brattle Group Prize in 2014, and the Banque de France-TSE Senior Prize in 2022.
A timely nod to crisis theory
Caballero’s safe asset theories remain essential for analyzing financial instability and liquidity freezes.
The decision gives well-deserved visibility to Latin American macroeconomic scholarship.
While prizes cannot fix market distortions, this award confirms that risk-centric models belong in the policy mainstream.