The IOEA aims to promote advanced and original research on institutional and organizational economics. Institutional and organizational economics (IOE) has been one of the most prolific fields of research during the past forty years. It combines theoretical and empirical analyses of the diversity of mechanisms, formal and informal, allowing coordination between agents, interaction between these different mechanisms and their consequences on economic performances and dynamics.

IOE is characterized by two strong traditions.

• First, its constant attention to operationalization. This research program aims at developing analyses leading to empirically refutable propositions. The continuous round trip between theoretical developments and empirical analyses result into operational propositions for both researchers, and public and private decision-makers. It explains why today IOEA alumni hold positions not only in the academia, but also in governmental or international agencies, and even in businesses.
• Second, the research community in IOE has always been aware of the importance of developing interactions between numerous social sciences in order to make advances. The community of researchers who form the IOEA is composed not only of economists but also of political scientists, lawyers, sociologists and management scientists who work on intricate matters such as contracts, organizations and institutions.

Beyond the will to promote IOE research, another major target of the academy is to foster its development among young researchers, to identify promising talents, and to spread their work within the community. PhD candidates, Post-doc., as well as young professors, benefit from both a high-level training and a chance to fit into the international network of the IOE. Moreover, the academy enables an international network of researchers able to work together to be built up gradually.