Frances P. Ruane, MRIA, is an Irish academic economist and former director of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Dublin, Ireland 2006−2015.
She has also been a regular appointee to State and public policy boards and committees, including most recently acting as Chair of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland (2016-2019) and the National Competitiveness Council (since 2019).
Between 1971 and 1974, she worked as a Planning Officer at the Industrial Development Authority, which spawned her interest in FDI[clarification needed], and subsequently as a Research Economist at the Central Bank of Ireland.
In 2001, she ran unsuccessfully, as a candidate for Provost of Trinity College, an event later described by Prof Jane Ohlmeyer as important for encouraging women to take on leadership roles in the Irish public service, creating "a crack in the glass ceiling".
Through her research, Ruane has contributed to the understanding of international economics, industrial development, structural change, and firm heterogeneity.