One of the most prestigious awards in academic economics, the John Bates Clark Medal, has been awarded to Susan Athey, a professor at Harvard University.

Ms Athey, 36, is the first woman to win the Clark Medal, which is awarded every two years by the American Economic Association to a leading academic economist under the age of 40. Many previous winners have gone on to receive the Nobel memorial prize in economics, but the Clark Medal is a better guide to the current cutting edge of the discipline.