Toulouse Graduate School défis en économie et sciences sociales quantitatives

The objectives of CHESS are to support Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) and the multidisciplinary Institute for Advanced Study Toulouse (IAST) in their quest to become world-class institutions by advancing their international standing, strengthening TSE’s graduate programs, and fostering multidisciplinary approaches. CHESS embeds two earlier Labex projects, the first awarded in 2011 to seed the de novo creation of IAST, and the second granted in 2012 to strengthen TSE.

In the first eight years of CHESS, TSE and IAST have made steady progress towards these objectives, recognized by the international jury in the 2023 mid-term review. The creation in 2023 of the new autonomous institution TSE (Toulouse of Economics and Quantitative Social Sciences) that encompasses IAST was a key achievement validating the initial vision of CHESS.

During the 2025-2026 reporting period, the major developments and achievements of CHESS were: (1) a well-functioning organization of the new institution TSE with a smooth transition at the top leadership level; (2) first benefits of the organizational independence with the preparation of the roll-out new Master programs; (3) 5 new junior faculty hires; (4) a high volume of 166 research articles in peer-reviewed journals (142 with PIA acknowledgement), of which 33 in top journals and next-tier journals in economics, mathematics and social sciences; (5) a strong schedule of academic conferences, weekly seminars, visitors and outreach events; (6) 3 new IUF appointments, 1 ERC grant, 10 new ANR and other grants, and several awards and nominations, incl. a CNRS Bronze medal; (7) ranked no. 15 in Economics worldwide in the Shanghai ranking; (8) a good placement record on the PhD job market in spite of adverse conditions; (9) strong media and social media presence; (10) a solid financial position, spending from CHESS close to schedule and further advances towards a more diversified funding structure.