Professor Albrecht Glitz has been awarded a "Europa Excelencia" grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for a project titled "The Economics of Espionage". Europa Excelencia grants focus on promoting R&D activities and contributing to the advancement of knowledge in Spain, and support researchers in conducting work on particular topics.

In his "The Economics of Espionage" project, Prof. Glitz will examine how secret industrial information can be stolen from business organizations or nations and used for economic gain. The information may be financial data, policy and positions, new emerging technologies, or economic data. The topic is crucial since espionage has increased in recent years due to the rise of cybercrime, and companies have invested millions in protecting their secret data from landing in the wrong hands.

The Europa Excelencia grants enable Spain to promote competitiveness in research funding, thus helping develop the science-based industry. The grants cover expenditure on equipment, staff, and other expenses involved in project development. Prof. Glitz has received prior granting to study this topic: in 2019 he received a grant from the Thyssen Foundation, and in 2018 he received a Fundacio Bancaria “La Caixa” Research Grant.

Prof. Glitz is an Associate Professor and Ramon y Cajal Researcher at the UPF. He received his PhD from the University College of London in 2008. His research interests involve labor economics, applied microeconomics, the economies of immigration, and the economics of espionage.

He has also been involved in prior research granting from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation: in 2021 for a project titled "Health, Work and Family over the Life Cycle"; in 2016 for a project titled "Microeconometric Analysis of Individual Decisions in the Labour Market and Health Sector: Methods and Policy Evaluations"; and in 2009 for a project titled "Dynamics in Individual Decision Making and Their Effects on Welfare".