SITE 2025 Conference

Call For Papers

Stanford Economics is proud to host its annual Stanford Institute for Theoretical Economics (SITE) Conference from June 30 to September 13, 2025. SITE sponsors sessions that encompass both economic theory and empirical work and cover a broad range of topics. It brings together established and emerging scholars to present leading-edge economic research, to educate, and to collaborate.

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Paper Submission

To ensure a productive and engaging experience for all participants, presenters are encouraged and expected to attend and participate in the entirety of their respective sessions.

In addition, SITE will only cover a portion of travel expenses of selected presenters. Local presenters will receive no funding support.

For questions, please contact us at siteworkshop [at] stanford.edu (siteworkshop[at]stanford[dot]edu).

 

Session 2: Empirical Implementation of Theoretical Models of Strategic Interaction and Dynamic Behavior

Date
Thursday, July 17, 2025, 8:00am - Friday, July 18, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Landau Economics Building, 579 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

Different from the past twenty-five SITE sessions on “Empirical Implementation of Theoretical Models of Strategic Interaction and Dynamic Behavior,” this year will focus on the econometric methodology side of this topic. Papers dealing with new developments in econometric methods relevant to the fields of empirical Industrial Organization (IO), Labor Economics, Energy and Environmental Economics, Health Economics, and the Economics of Education. Topics include: (1) methods for estimating and drawing inferences about partially identified econometric models, (2) methods for identifying and estimating dynamic single agent models, (3) methods for identifying and estimating static and dynamic models of non-cooperative games, and (4) methods for estimating empirically relevant features of complex models of economic behavior and counterfactuals implied by these models. The motivation for this session is to bring together scholars working in the intersection between of theory-based empirical models and the statistical methods relevant to estimating economically relevant magnitudes from these models in the and computing counterfactual economic outcomes while making minimal maintained assumptions.

Organized by:
  • Frank Wolak, Stanford University
  • Ivan Canay Northwestern University
Deadline for paper submission
April 24, 2025

Session 3: The Economics of Transparency

Date
Thursday, July 24, 2025, 8:00am - Friday, July 25, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Stanford Graduate School of Business, 655 Knight Way, Stanford, CA 94305

The idea of this SITE session is to bring together theorists and empiricists working on topics of the economics of information transparency and disclosure across a wide range of fields including accounting, economics, finance, and law. We have two broad goals with this conference. The first is to provide a venue to discuss the latest frontier of research questions and techniques facing researchers studying transparency and disclosure topics across a variety of markets. This is particularly important at a time where regulators across the globe are increasingly relying on disclosure regulation to achieve various goals, including, for example, ensuring the stability of the banking sector, fostering quality through competition in the healthcare sector, improving the diversity of firms’ leadership positions, and combating climate change. Second, we wish to foster interdisciplinary discussion between scholars working on parallel topics in different disciplines and help raise awareness among theorists and empiricists alike of the open questions in other fields. This interdisciplinary collaboration is necessary to best design information disclosure policies embedded in complex legal institutions.

Organized by:
  • Thomas Bourveau, Columbia University
  • Ilan Guttman, New York University
  • John Kepler, Stanford University
  • Kevin Smith, Stanford University
Deadline for paper submission
April 28, 2025

Session 4: Causes and Consequences of Misallocation: Theory and Empirics

Date
Thursday, July 24, 2025, 8:00am - Friday, July 25, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Stanford Graduate School of Business, 655 Knight Way, Stanford, CA 94305

The efficient allocation of resources across firms and sectors is crucial for aggregate productivity and economic growth. In an ideal world without frictions, resources would flow to their most productive uses, but what happens when there are barriers to this efficient reallocation? Firms can face constraints in accessing capital, technology, or skilled labor, or when distortionary policies create wedges in marginal products across firms. Furthermore, the persistence of productivity differences across countries suggests that misallocation may be a key driver of development gaps. How do various market frictions and policy distortions contribute to resource misallocation, and what are their quantitative implications for aggregate productivity? This session will bridge theoretical frameworks with empirical evidence, combining insights from firm dynamics, finance, and macroeconomics to deepen our understanding of how misallocation shapes economic performance and what policies might help address it.

Organized by:
  • Michael Blank, Stanford University
  • Pete Klenow, Stanford University
  • Adrien Matray, University of California, Berkeley
  • Sara Moreira, Northwestern University
Deadline for paper submission
May 1, 2025

Session 5: Climate Finance and Banking

Date
Monday, July 28, 2025, 8:00am - Tuesday, July 29, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Landau Economics Building, 579 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

This is a segment exploring the latest papers in climate finance and banking.

Organized by:
  • Juliane Begenau, Stanford University
  • Stefano Giglio, Yale University
  • Lars P. Hansen, University of Chicago
  • Monika Piazzesi, Stanford University
Deadline for paper submission
May 5, 2025

Session 7: Empirical Market Design

Date
Wednesday, August 6, 2025, 8:00am - Thursday, August 7, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Landau Economics Building, 579 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

Empirical Market Design is an emerging research field, blending the theoretical underpinnings of market design with novel empirical approaches that are sometimes related to those used applied microeconomics, public economics, and industrial organization. This innovative approach aims to rigorously analyze and understand policy-relevant scenarios, with the focus on harnessing the efficiency and equity benefits of market forces. This session will include papers that employ empirical tools to design better markets and inform policy decisions, ultimately contributing to a more equitable and efficient economic landscape.

Organized by:
  • Claudia Allende, Stanford University
  • Adam Kapor, Princeton University
  • Paulo Somaini, Stanford University
Deadline for paper submission
May 13, 2025

Session 10: Political Economic Theory

Date
Thursday, August 14, 2025, 8:00am - Friday, August 15, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Stanford Graduate School of Business, 655 Knight Way, Stanford, CA 94305

This session will bring together researchers from political science and economics who apply economic theory to the study of politics. This includes work in the areas of voting theory, political bargaining, policy-making and implementation, lobbying and regulation, and the media and information environment in which politics takes place. The session will encourage productive dialogue between researchers in economic theory that have developed ideas and tools relevant to the study of politics, and those in political science who study questions and topics that can be addressed by economic theory.

Organized by:
  • Avidit Acharya, Stanford University
  • Steve Callander, Stanford University
  • Hulya Eraslan, Rice University
  • Masha Titova, Vanderbilt University
  • Tom Palfrey, California Institute of Technology
Deadline for paper submission
May 21, 2025

Session 11: Gender

Date
Thursday, August 14, 2025, 8:05am - Friday, August 15, 2025, 5:05pm
Location:
Landau Economics Building, 579 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

This workshop will be dedicated to research that studies how gender influences economic outcomes and decision making. We invite submissions of papers whose main focus is gender, regardless of field, to foster dialogue across different approaches. We welcome presentations by scholars of all levels of seniority and graduate students.

Organized by:
  • Nina Buchmann, Yale University
  • Alejandro Martinez-Marqina, University of Southern California
  • Muriel Niederle, Stanford University
  • Alessandra Voena, Stanford University
Deadline for paper submission
May 7, 2025

Session 12: Psychology and Economics

Date
Monday, August 18, 2025, 8:00am - Tuesday, August 19, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Building, 366 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA 94305

The idea of this SITE session is to bring together theorists and empiricists working on topics of the economics of information transparency and disclosure across a wide range of fields including accounting, economics, finance, operations, and law. We have two broad goals with this conference. The first is to provide a venue to discuss the frontier of research questions and techniques facing researchers studying transparency and disclosure topics across a variety of markets. This is particularly important at a time where regulators across the globe are increasingly relying on disclosure regulation to achieve various goals, including, for example, ensuring the stability of the banking sector, fostering quality through competition in the healthcare sector, and combating climate change. Second, we wish to foster interdisciplinary discussion between scholars working on parallel topics in different disciplines and help raise awareness among theorists and empiricists alike of the open questions in other fields.

Organized by:
  • B. Douglas Bernheim, Stanford University
  • John Beshears, Harvard University
  • Vincent Crawford, University of Oxford and University of California San Diego
  • Botond Koszegi, University of Bonn
  • David Laibson, Harvard University
  • Ulrike Malmendier, University of California, Berkeley
  • Leeat Yariv, Princeton University
Deadline for paper submission
May 12, 2025

Session 13: Experimental Economics

Date
Wednesday, August 20, 2025, 8:00am - Thursday, August 21, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Building, 366 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA 94305

We would like to host a workshop in Experimental Economics. This workshop will be dedicated to advances in experimental economics combining laboratory and field-experimental methodologies with theoretical and psychological insights on decision-making, strategic interaction and policy. We would invite papers in lab experiments, field experiments and their combination that test theory, demonstrate the importance of psychological phenomena, and explore social and policy issues. In addition to senior faculty members, invited presenters will include junior faculty as well as graduate students.

Organized by:
  • Christine Exley, University of Michigan
  • Muriel Niederle, Stanford University
  • Kirby Nielsen, California Institute of Technology
  • Al Roth, Stanford University
  • Lise Vesterlund, University of Pittsburgh
Deadline for paper submission
May 1, 2025

Session 14: Financial Regulation

Date
Monday, August 25, 2025, 8:00am - Wednesday, August 27, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Landau Economics Building, 579 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

This session discusses the latest advances in theoretical and empirical issues related to financial regulation, defined broadly. Topics will include, but will not be limited to, connections of regulation for intermediaries, households and policymakers in the US and outside the US.

Organized by:
  • Gregor Matvos, Northwestern University
  • Amit Seru, Stanford University
Deadline for paper submission
June 2, 2025

Session 15: China in the Global Economy

Date
Wednesday, August 27, 2025, 8:00am - Friday, August 29, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Stanford Graduate School of Business, 655 Knight Way, Stanford, CA 94305

This session invites scholars and policymakers to explore the multifaceted dimensions of China's evolving economy and its global interconnections. We seek submissions addressing key areas including macroeconomic developments, international trade dynamics, financial market integration, and structural transformation. By examining both historical trends and contemporary issues, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of the factors driving growth, stability, and transformation within China’s economic landscape. We are particularly interested in studies on China's interactions with the global economy, including trade dynamics, investment flows, technological cooperation, and geopolitical influences. Submissions of both theoretical and empirical studies across various fields of economics, as well as interdisciplinary contributions, are welcomed.

Organized by:
  • Zhiguo He, Stanford University
  • Zheng (Michael) Song, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Deadline for paper submission
June 16, 2025

Session 16: The Micro and Macro of Labor Markets

Date
Thursday, August 28, 2025, 8:00am - Friday, August 29, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Landau Economics Building, 579 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

The idea of this session is to bring together labor economists and macroeconomists with interests in labor markets with two goals. The first goal is to be a venue to discuss the latest research about labor markets. The second goal is to promote intellectual exchange among scholars working on similar topics, but with different approaches. Specific topics will depend on the submissions. The submitting author is by default the presenting author. If someone other than the submitting author would be presenting, that should be noted with the submission and we reserve the right to withdraw an acceptance if we are not notified of such a discrepancy.

Organized by:
  • Isaac Sorkin, Stanford University
  • Gregor Jarosch, Duke University
  • Thibaut Lamadon, University of Chicago
  • Rob Shimer, University of Chicago
Deadline for paper submission
May 15, 2025

Session 17: The Macroeconomics of Uncertainty and Volatility

Date
Wednesday, September 3, 2025, 8:00am - Friday, September 5, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Landau Economics Building, 579 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

The session will cover recent work on the causes and effects of changes in volatility and uncertainty in the aggregate economy, which is incredibly topical given the ongoing domestic and wider global volatility. This session will focus on measuring changes in uncertainty, evaluating its impact on the US and global economy, and discussing policy responses. The mix of academics and policy makers across multiple institutions reflects this broad interest. The session will aim to include about 20 recent papers on these topics, with as in prior years a mix of theoretical and empirical papers, junior and senior presenters, and institutions.

Organized by:
  • Nicholas Bloom, Stanford University
  • Steve Davis, Stanford University
  • Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde, University of Pennsylvania
  • Zheng Lu, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
  • Bo Sun, University of Virginia
  • Nancy Xu, Boston College
Deadline for paper submission
June 11, 2025

Session 18: Inequality Through the Lens of Individual and Labor Market Dynamics

Date
Thursday, September 4, 2025, 8:00am - Friday, September 5, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
TBD

This sessions aims to bring together scholars, both young and established, in as diverse fields as labor economics, public economics, industrial organization, and macroeconomics, who are interested in understanding: i) how the dynamics of education decisions, family formation, occupational and career choice, and labor market experience contribute to persistent wage, income, and wealth inequality in the aggregate; ii) how to identify and measure the importance of these mechanisms relative to the role of market and contractual imperfections; and iii) when policies, ranging from targeted income support to mandates such as quotas, taxes, and subsidies on firms, can ameliorate them. The goal is to provide a unified perspective on inequality that builds on frontier research and methods from different fields. Contributions from theoretical, applied, and econometric perspectives are welcome.

Organized by:
  • Elena Pastorino, Stanford University
  • Luigi Pistaferri, Stanford University
  • Jeremy Lise, Cornell University
Deadline for paper submission
June 12, 2025

Session 19: Macroeconomics in the Sequence Space

Date
Monday, September 8, 2025, 8:00am - Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Landau Economics Building, 579 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

The past five years have seen an explosion of work in macroeconomics using the “sequence-space” approach to solving and analyzing models. By avoiding the need to keep track of the entire distribution of agents when solving for general equilibrium dynamics, this approach makes it possible to solve models with rich heterogeneity. We are interested in bringing researchers that use this new tool to share their work and discuss methodological challenges and breakthroughs. Potential applications of interest include models with household heterogeneity, information frictions, labor market frictions, price-setting models, heterogeneous-firm models with endogenous entry and exit, models of investment with fixed costs, and dynamic urban-spatial models; as well as papers that solve for portfolio choice, optimal policy, or evaluate the state and size dependence of shocks.

Organized by:
  •  Adrien Auclert, Stanford University
  • Matthew Rognlie, Northwestern University
  • Ludwig Straub, Harvard University
Deadline for paper submission
June 16, 2025

Session 20: Fiscal Sustainability

Date
Thursday, September 11, 2025, 8:00am - Friday, September 12, 2025, 5:00pm
Location:
Landau Economics Building, 579 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

Several countries have now record high levels of public debt that are comparable to the ones inherited from WWII. This creates challenges for both fiscal sustainability and the conduct of monetary policy. This session aims to bring together scholars working at the intersection of monetary policy, fiscal policy, fiscal sustainability, asset pricing, and the valuation of government debt. What role do central banks play in creating fiscal space for governments? Is there a possibility of fiscal dominance going forward? How does this possibility affect asset prices and the creation of safe assets? Could the erosion of the U.S. fiscal position threaten its reserve currency role? Both applied and theoretical contributions are welcome. The goal is to have a lively discussion enriched by a variety of perspectives.

Organized by:
  • Luigi Bocola, Stanford University
  • Francesco Bianchi, John Hopkins University
  • Hanno Lustig, Stanford University
Deadline for paper submission
June 16, 2025

SITE is funded by grants from the National Science Foundation with additional support from the Stanford School of Humanities & Sciences Department of Economics, the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.