Professor Thráinn Eggertsson passed away on June 18, 2026, at the age of 85. He was one of the founding fathers of the New Institutional Economics (NIE) in 1997.
In 1991, Professor Eggertsson published Economic Behavior and Institutions. It was the first comprehensive treatise of the NIE and contained a discussion of the most important concepts in the field. The book was subsequently published in six other languages besides English. In 1996, Thráinn published Empirical Studies in Institutional Change (with Lee Alston and Douglass North). This book helped scholars better understand and apply the concepts of the NIE.
Thráinn served as President of the International Society for the New Institutional Economics (now the Society of Institutional and Organizational Economics) from 2007 to 2008. In 2005, Thráinn published Imperfect Institutions: Possibilities and Limits of Reform. In this book he chronicles how Iceland starved for several centuries despite being situated adjacent to some of the richest fisheries in the world. His work demonstrates how difficult it can be to politically change institutions because of vested interests — Denmark and the landed elite in Iceland.
Thráinn recently completed his fifth book. He is also the author of over 30 scholarly articles. Thráinn spent most of his career at the University of Iceland but held prestigious positions at Columbia University and the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. Thráinn also was involved in Icelandic policy and advocated for Iceland to maintain transferable fishing rights. In addition to his scholarly work, Thráinn was a congenial colleague with a great sense of humor.