For several years, Aarhus economists have been providing data for this year’s American Laureate in Economics Sciences, Dale T. Mortensen

“We are naturally extremely happy on his behalf – and also a bit pleased with ourselves,” says an enthusiastic Niels Chr. Westergård-Nielsen, Professor in Economics at Aarhus School of Business.

He has been working with Dale T. Mortensen’s theories since the late 1970s, and today regards the new Nobel Laureate as a good friend.

The American economics professor Dale T. Mortensen was the first to place decisive emphasis on individual behaviour and individual data in labour market research. According to Niels Westergård-Nielsen, this meant that it was suddenly possible to explain why the wages for equal work differ and what the level of unemployment benefits means for different groups of unemployed.

“His research became an inspiration for the Aarhus economists early on, and we have also provided data for him. Individual data is actually at a more advanced level here than in the US, so it made good sense for Dale T. Mortensen to conduct part of his research in Aarhus,” says Niels Westergård-Nielsen.

Michael Svarer, a professor at the School of Economics and Management, also believes that Dale T. Mortensen’s importance for Aarhus University cannot be overstated:

“It has been a tremendous source of inspiration for us to have one of the world’s leading labour market researchers affiliated with the university for so many years. In addition, he has attracted a large number of very talented PhD students from abroad and generally improved the level of our labour market research.”