AI, Digitization, and Financial Markets
The fifth annual ISB–NBER Conference on Economic Policy and the Indian Economy will be held at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad on December 14–15, 2026. The rapid development and adoption of AI, together with the expansion of digital technologies and platforms, is reshaping financial services and financial markets. These technologies are transforming how households and firms access financial markets and make financial decisions, including how credit is allocated, portfolios are constructed, and assets are valued. The conference will examine how these changes are affecting financial services, financial markets, and the allocation of capital. The conference will be co-organized by Shashwat Alok (ISB) and Amit Seru (Stanford University and NBER).
Priority topics for discussion at the conference include, but are not limited to:
- Household finance and financial inclusion: The role of AI, digital platforms, and fintech tools in shaping household access to financial markets, credit, savings products, and insurance, and their implications for asset accumulation, entrepreneurship, and disparities in financial access.
- Financial intermediation and markets: The use of AI and algorithmic tools in credit allocation, asset pricing, portfolio management, insurance markets, and risk assessment, as well as the broader implications for financial services and capital allocation.
- Productivity, firms, and technological adoption: The effects of AI and digitization on firm-level and aggregate productivity, including complementary investments in human capital and organizational change and the diffusion of AI technologies across sectors.
- Labor markets and organizational change: The impact of AI on employment, skill demand, wage dynamics, and the internal organization of firms, including managerial decision-making, team structure, and corporate strategy.
- Platforms, competition, and economic outcomes: The rise of digital platforms and AI-driven analytics in marketing, pricing, and product design, and their implications for competition, consumer welfare, market structure, and the broader allocation of resources across the economy.
The conference will spotlight research on India and the South Asia region, but studies of other regions are also welcome, particularly when their findings have broad implications for understanding AI and digitization in finance. The organizers welcome submissions by scholars who are early in their careers and from those who are, and are not, NBER affiliates. To be considered for inclusion on the program, completed papers must be uploaded by 11:59pm (EDT) on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
Please do not submit papers that have been accepted for publication and that will be published by December 2026. In keeping with NBER requirements, papers may not make policy recommendations. Authors chosen to present papers will be notified in July 2026. For papers by author teams from outside India, ISB and NBER will provide a travel allowance approximately equal to business class airfare for one author per paper. All other co-authors are welcome to attend the conference at their own expense. For papers prepared by author teams based in India, the conference hosts will reimburse economy-class travel for all co-authors. ISB will cover conference-related lodging and meal expenses for all authors who attend the meeting.
Questions about subject matter may be addressed Shashwat_alok@isb.edu or aseru@stanford.edu. Other conference-related questions may be directed to confer@nber.org. Please share this call for papers with colleagues who may be interested in submitting a paper.