Kevin O’Rourke named recipient of 2026 Alice Murray Award

Posted on: 05 February 2026

Professor Kevin O’Rourke, (Sciences Po Paris, CNRS) has been announced as the recipient of the Alice Murray Distinguished Scholar Award.

The award, administered by the Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH), is presented annually to an economic historian whose work has made a major contribution to the discipline.

The award is named after Dr Alice Effie Murray (1877-1951), an economic historian who studied the history of commercial and financial relations between England and Ireland. When she received her D.Sc. Econ. in 1903 for her doctorate on the topic, she became the first woman to receive a degree from the London School of Economics (LSE). Her thesis was subsequently published by P. S. King in 1907.

Professor O’Rourke will be presented with the award and give the Alice Murray Distinguished Scholar Lecture on Thursday, 19th February 2026 at 17:00 in the Neill Lecture Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub. More information and registration details are available here.

The lecture is entitled ‘From most-favoured-nation to reciprocal tariffs: what is unsurprising about Trump’s tariffs, what is surprising, and why it matters’.

Speaking in advance of the lecture,  Professor O’Rourke said: “Commentary on recent US tariff increases has largely focussed on the height of the duties involved, but in a historical context what is more striking is their discriminatory nature. The lecture will argue that the American move away from free trade is not so surprising, when viewed in a historical context, but that the US abandonment of the non-discrimination principles it traditionally championed is much more so. The reasons why the United States initially embraced the MFN principle will be revisited, since that historical experience has something to teach us today.”

On receiving the award, Professor O’Rourke said: “I am very honoured to be receiving this prize in memory of Alice Effie Murray. She was not only the first woman to receive a degree from the LSE, but the first serious economic historian of Ireland, beating George O’Brien to the prize by some fifteen years. I am particularly pleased to be giving a talk in her honour since she was among other things a historian of trade and trade policy, and so throughout my career I have been following in her footsteps. I look forward to speaking in February about what history has to tell us about today’s dramatic trade policy landscape.”

Professor O’Rourke is Director of Research at the CNRS and a Professor of Economics at Sciences Po, with a distinguished career at the intersection of economic history and international economics. His research on the history of globalization, trade policy and economic integration has shaped modern understanding of global economic evolution. He has held academic posts at institutions such as All Souls College, Oxford, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Harvard, and Columbia.

Co-director of CEPH Gaia Narciso, School of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Trinity, added: “Professor Kevin O’Rourke stands as one of the most influential economic historians of his generation. His research has provided the intellectual framework that defines modern economic history’s approach to studying the movement of commodities, people and capital during the first era of globalization. His work on the interwar period has illuminated the complex relationships between protectionism, politics, macroeconomics, and economic catastrophe.”

Co-director of CEPH John Turner, Queen’s University Belfast, added: “Professor O’Rourke has distinguished himself as an intellectual leader who has shaped how economic history is studied and applied. His ability to combine sophisticated economic theory with meticulous historical evidence has set new standards for the field. Furthermore, his engagement with contemporary policy debates brings historical perspective to ongoing discussions about deglobalization, trade wars, and populism.”

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