Rafael Lalive earned his PhD in July 2001 from University of Zurich. He currently holds a full professor of economics position at University of Lausanne since September 2006.

Rafael Lalive works on policy issues related to the labor market chances of job seekers, diabled workers and mothers of newborn children. He is also interested in questions related to the relevance of social norms and social interactions. His research has been published in leading journals such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of the European Economic Association, and the Economic Journal.

Rafael Lalive joined IZA as a Research Affiliate in November 2000 and became a Research Fellow in March 2004.