Professor Frances P. Ruane is an Irish academic economist and former director of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Dublin, Ireland from 2006−2015.

She holds a B.A. in economics, an M.A. in econometrics from University College Dublin, and a DPhil from Oxford University. In 1977 she took up a teaching post at Trinity College, Dublin, becoming an associate professor of economics in 1991. She also worked at Queen's University, Ontario, Canada. Previously, she worked at the Industrial Development Authority and the Central Bank of Ireland.

The focus of her research has been on issues related to globalization in an EU context, with a particular focus on Ireland and currently BREXIT. This research has informed policy at both national and European levels and has resulted in the publication of over 80 peer-reviewed papers, and several books and edited conference proceedings. While at the ESRI, she co-edited and contributed to a volume on Using Evidence to Inform Policy, published by Gill & MacMillan in 2