Guido Imbens is a Nobel laureate economist known for his foundational contributions to econometrics and statistics, specifically in the analysis of causal relationships within observational studies. After introducing the foundational Local Average Treatment Effect (LATE) framework with Joshua Angrist in 1994, a mathematical methodology for inferring causation from natural experiments that catalyzed a ‘credibility revolution’ in empirical microeconomics, Guido Imbens went on to receive his Ph.D. in economics from Brown University in 1991. His distinguished academic career commenced with teaching roles at Tilburg University (1989–1990), followed by Harvard University (1990–97), the University of California, Los Angeles (1997–2001), and the University of California, Berkeley (2001–07).

Since 2012, Imbens has served as a Professor of Applied Econometrics in Economics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He concurrently holds positions as a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and a professor of economics at Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences. His work primarily focuses on developing sophisticated methods for drawing causal inferences from observational data, employing techniques such as matching, instrumental variables, and regression discontinuity designs. In 2001, Imbens collaborated with Donald Rubin and Bruce Sacerdote to conduct a pivotal study on the impact of unearned income on labor supply, utilizing Massachusetts state lottery winners as a natural experiment.

In 2021, Imbens, alongside Joshua Angrist and David Card, was awarded half of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships, particularly their work on instrumental variables and the LATE framework. Expanding his accolades, he was named a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in 2022, solidifying his standing as a preeminent figure in economic science.