Lamfalussy Research Fellowship - Call for projects
The European Central Bank (ECB) is seeking applications from promising young researchers for up to five Lamfalussy Research Fellowships in 2026. The Lamfalussy Research Fellowship programme was launched in 2003 and aims to promote high-quality research on the structure, integration and performance of the European financial system. The programme is named after the late Baron Alexandre Lamfalussy, the first President of the European Monetary Institute. Each fellowship is endowed with an honorarium of €10,000. The selection committee consists of Vasso Ioannidou (Bayes Business School), Angela Maddaloni (ECB), Simone Manganelli (ECB), Ivan Petrella (Warwick Business School), Veronica Rappoport (London School of Economics) and Dominik Thaler (ECB).
Research projects
Successful candidates will be required to write a research paper over the course of 2026 in one of the following areas, focusing explicitly on the euro area:
- a. Financial stability implications of central bank balance sheet policy
- b. The growing role of market-based finance and private credit in the European financial system and their prudential treatment
- c. Systemic risk, liquidity and macroprudential regulation
- a. The effects of AI on banks’ lending decisions, competition and profitability
- b. Implications of AI for asset market valuations and financial stability
- c. The impact of AI on financial markets and financial institutions
- a. Determinants of the strength, speed and heterogeneity of the transmission mechanism
- b. The central bank balance sheet in the short and long run and its impact on financial markets
- c. The role of non-bank financial intermediaries and market-based finance
Successful candidates are expected to present their papers at relevant ECB conferences and to have them published in the ECB’s working paper series and in leading peer reviewed journals. Successful candidates are not granted access to internal ECB data.
Candidate profiles
Candidates should hold a position in a research institution. Researchers at the assistant professor level and PhD students approaching the end of their programme are particularly encouraged to apply. None of the authors involved in the paper should be more than 36 years old by 31 January 2026 or in an employment relationship with any of the following: (i) a national central bank in the European System of Central Banks; (ii) any other employer performing central banking tasks, i.e. the tasks of the Eurosystem as laid down in Article 127(2), (5) and (6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; (iii) an international governmental organisation, i.e. non-profit organisations which are created or recognised by states or by organisations which themselves were created by states and are entrusted with the performance of tasks in the public interest. Candidates should not have previously won the Lamfalussy Research Fellowship or the ECB’s Young Economist Prize at the time of application.
Applications
Submission deadline: 31 January 2026
Applications should be submitted in English and include the following:
- a cover letter
- a curriculum vitae
- two letters of recommendation
- a two-page research proposal on one of the topics listed above
- a statement indicating the candidate’s current sources of funding and date of birth
Applications should be sent by email to lamfalussy.fellowships@ecb.europa.eu no later than 31 January 2026 (before 24:00 CET). To further enhance diversity, the ECB particularly encourages applications from female candidates. The selection committee aims to award five fellowships by April 2026.