Stanford Institute for Theoretical Economics

Overview

Stanford's Department of Economics hosts an annual summer conference known as the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Economics (SITE), which consists of workshop sessions on almost every topic in economics including behavioral and experimental, computational, development, economic history, finance, industrial organization, labor, macroeconomics, and public. The purpose of this conference is to advance economic science for the benefit of society and to support the cutting-edge work of economic theorists within specialized areas of research. SITE is overseen by its Director, Alvin Roth and sessions are organized in a decentralized fashion by small groups of economists and selected senior collaborators from outside Stanford.

Goal

SITE's goal is to contribute to the

"dissemination of scientific knowledge, to strengthen both empirical and theoretical economic analysis and research methods, and to improve the understanding of the processes and institutions of the U.S. economy and of the world system of which it is a part."

Each SITE session combines leading senior researchers in the specified topic areas with those newer to the field.  The workshops provide a conducive environment for diverse members of the economic community to interact and connect with fellow participants for the following opportunities:

  • to exchange ideas, engage in critical scientific discussion, and collaborate on new research;
  • to benefit from exposure to new developments in their field as well as problems, questions, and ideas beyond their immediate areas of research;
  • to gain valuable experience working with new and varied concepts, methods, and tools;
  • to promote exchange across disciplines;
  • to enrich academic and professional development

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.