Jordi
Gual

Professor of Economics

• Ph.D. in Economics, University of California-Berkeley
• Doctor of Economic and Business Science, Universitat de Barcelona

Professor of Economics at IESE Business School.

Jordi Gual is Non-Executive Chairman of VidaCaixa since April 2021. He is member of the Board of Directors of Telefônica Brasil and of the Advisory Board of Telefónica España. He holds a PhD in Economics (1987) from the University of California at Berkeley and is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London.

Between 2016 and 2021, he served as Chairman of CaixaBank. Prior to this appointment, he was Chief Economist and Head of Strategic Planning and Research for CaixaBank and Director-General of Planning and Strategic Development for CriteriaCaixa. Jordi Gual joined the “la Caixa” Group in 2005. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Telefónica, Erste Group Bank and Repsol. He was also ViceChairman of Círculo de Economía and COTEC, as well as Chairman of FEDEA.

He also served as an Economic Advisor for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs in Brussels and was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics. Since March 2022 he is Associate of OXERA Consulting LLP (London). He also serves on the board of the CEDE Foundation and is a SUERF Fellow.

His work on banking, European integration, regulation, and competition policy has been widely published. He is a regular contributor to leading newspapers. His latest book is: Confiar no tiene precio “Trust is priceless” (Penguin Random House, April 2024).

In 1999 he was awarded the Research Prize from the European Investment Bank and in 1979 the Extraordinary Award for his degree in Economics and Business. He has also been a Fulbright Scholar.

Areas of interest.

• Industrial organization (telecommunications, banking, digital markets)
• Regulation and competition policy
• European integration
• Macroeconomics and Finance

Publications

Journal Articles (refereed)

MAS, N., GUAL, J. (2011). Industry Characteristics and Anti-Competitive Behavior. Evidence from the European Commission's Decisions. Review of Industrial Organization, 39 (3), 207 - 230. doi:10.1007/s11151-011-9290-z. GUAL, J., TRILLAS, F. (2006). Telecommunications policies: Measurement and determinants. Review of Network Economics, 5 (2), 249 - 272. GUAL, J. (2003). Regulatory change in network industries: The Spanish experience. Journal of Network Industries, 4 (1), 60 - 81. GUAL, J., JÓDAR, S. (2001). Política de competencia en el sector de las tecnologías de la información. Economía Industrial (339), 61 - 74. GUAL, J. (1999). Deregulation, Integration, and Market Structure in European Banking. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, 13, 372 - 396. doi:10.1006/jjie.1999.0428. GUAL, J., WAVERMAN, L. (1998). The liberalization of telecommunications in the EU: Managing the Transition. Business Strategy Review, 9 (3), 67 - 71. doi:10.1111/1467-8616.00076. GUAL, J., HERNÁNDEZ, A. (1993). La competitividad sectorial y la industria española. Economía Industrial (291), 143 - 161. GUAL, J. (1987). La industria del automóvil y las políticas de integración de mercado en la Comunidad Europea. Economía Industrial (258), 89 - 102.

Working Papers

GUAL, J., MAS, N. (2010). European Commission decisions on anti-competitive behavior (DI-846-E). GUAL, J. (2007). Time to rethink merger policy? (DI-694-E). GUAL, J., MAS, N. (2007). Industry characteristics and anti-competitive behavior: Evidence from the EU (DI-687-E). GUAL, J., TRILLAS, F. (2006). Telecommunications policies: Measurement and determinants (DI-630-E). GUAL, J. (2003). Market definition in the telecoms industry (DI-517-E).

Articles in other publications

GUAL, J., IESE INSIGHT (2024). A tiempo para recuperar la confianza en el capitalismo. IESE Business School Insight (167), pp. 70-75. GUAL, J., IESE INSIGHT (2024). Restoring trust in capitalism. IESE Business School Insight (167), pp. 70-75. IESE INSIGHT, (2022). ¿Hasta dónde subirán los tipos de interés? IESEconomics. IESE INSIGHT, (2022). How high will interest rates go? IESEconomics. GUAL, J., MAS, N. (2022). Ukraine, energy prices and labor reform: three key economic issues for Spain in 2022. IESEconomics.

Books

GUAL, J. (2024). Confiar no tiene precio. La confianza en el capitalismo y las políticas públicas. Madrid: Debate. GUAL, J., TORRENS, L. (2004). La indústria catalana davant l'ampliació europea. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Treball i Industria. GUAL, J. (2003). Building a dynamic Europe. The key policy debates. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. GUAL, J., RICART, J. E. (2001). Estrategias empresariales en telecomunicaciones e Internet. Madrid: Fundación Retevisión. GUAL, J., BERGMAN, L., DOYLE, C., ET AL., VAITILINGAM, R. (1998). Europes network industries: Conflicting priorities. Telecommunications. London: Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Edited books

ARGANDOÑA, A., GUAL, J. (2003). The social dimensions of employment. Institutional reforms in labour markets. Aldershot, UK: Edward Elgar. GUAL, J. (2001). Empleo y nuevas tecnologías. Cómo las nuevas tecnologías transforman el mundo del trabajo. Barcelona: Estudios y Ediciones IESE. GUAL, J., RICART, J. E. (2001). Strategy, organization and the changing nature of work. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Book Chapters

JÓDAR, S., GUAL, J. (2014). La prociclicidad del sistema financiero tras las reformas. En Alberto Placencia Porrero (Director) (Ed.), Nuevos desafíos del sector financiero: recuperando la confianza y mejorando la cultura financiera (pp. 65 - 84). Madrid: Fundación de Estudios Financieros. GUAL, J. (2005). Instituciones para la defensa de la competencia en España: Organización, medios y eficiencia. En Santiago Martínez-Lage, Amadeo Petitbó Juan (Eds.), La modernización del derecho de la competencia en España y la Unión Europea (pp. 367 - 378). Madrid: Fundación Rafael del Pino : Marcial Pons, ediciones Jurídicas y Sociales, S.A. GUAL, J. (2004). ¿Puede Europa competir con el gigante americano? La importancia del mercado interior. En Antonio Argandoña, Manuel Balmaseda, Isla Carbajo, [et. al] (Eds.), Europa-Estados Unidos: flexibilidad, crecimiento y bienestar (pp. 137 - 152). Círculo de Empresarios. GUAL, J. (2003). La necesidad de un nuevo impulso reformista en España. En Argandoña, Antonio Balmaseda, Manuel Carbajo Isla [et al.] (Eds.), España - Europa: distintas alternativas para el crecimiento (pp. 95 - 109). Círculo de Empresarios. GUAL, J., RICART, J. E. (2001). Introduction: Strategy, organization and the changing nature of work. In Gual Solé, Jordi; Ricart Costa, Joan Enric (Eds.), Strategy, organization and the changing nature of work (pp. 1 - 4). Aldershot, UK: Edward Elgar.

Studies

GUAL, J., TORRENS, L. (2005). La competitivitat de la industria catalana. TORRENS, L., GUAL, J. (2005). El riesgo de deslocalización industrial en España ante la ampliación de la Unión Europea.

Cases

STROUMINA, M., GUAL, J. (2005). Bulgaria: On the Road to EU Membership. IESE, ECON-416-E. LÓPEZ, A., GUAL, J. (2004). Ireland: The Celtic Tiger. IESE, ECON-415-E. LÓPEZ, A., GUAL, J. (2004). Irlanda: El Tigre Europeo. IESE, ECON-415. JÓDAR, S., GUAL, J. (2004). La fusión digital (B). IESE, ECON-414. JÓDAR, S., GUAL, J. (2004). The Digital Merger (B). IESE, ECON-414-E.

Technical Notes

GUAL, J. (1999). Principales bases de datos y fuentes de información macroeconómica disponibles en internet. IESE, ASEN-218. GUAL, J. (1999). Macroeconomic analysis and data on tne internet. IESE, ASEN-218-E. GUAL, J. (1998). La oferta agregada y el mercado de trabajo. IESE, ASEN-203. GUAL, J. (1998). The Supply Side of the Economy in the Short Run: The Labour Market and the Aggregate Supply. IESE, ASEN-203-E. GUAL, J., VIDELA, P. (1998). Inflación y paro. IESE, ASEN-205.