LBS PhD candidate shortlisted for ECB prize
Katerina Nikalexi has been nominated for the ECB Young Economist Prize 2026 for research into Chinese ownership of European ports
London Business School and the School’s Economics faculty are delighted to announce that Katerina Nikalexi, a PhD candidate in Economics at London Business School, has been nominated for the ECB Young Economist Prize 2026.
The European Central Bank’s Young Economist Prize recognises outstanding research by emerging scholars whose work contributes to understanding major economic and policy challenges facing Europe and the global economy.
Katerina was selected on the basis of her paper, Ports of Power, which examines how Chinese acquisitions of critical port infrastructure reshape the European trade network. The research explores how changes in ownership of strategic gateways affect trade flows far beyond the ports themselves, influencing economic relationships and commercial corridors across Europe.
Katerina said: “I’m deeply honoured to be selected as a finalist on the basis of my paper ‘Ports of Power’, which examines how Chinese acquisitions of critical port infrastructure reshape the European trade network. The paper finds that when ownership of a strategic gateway changes hands, the effects ripple hundreds of kilometres inland, reconfiguring which regions trade with whom and through which corridors.
“It’s humbling to have this work recognised, especially at a time when questions of strategic autonomy sit at the heart of European policymaking. I’m hugely grateful to my PhD advisors, Hélène Rey and Elias Papaioannou, whose guidance made this possible, and I look forward to presenting the work and meeting the other finalists at the Forum.”
Katerina will present her research alongside fellow finalists at the ECB Forum later this year.