Capital Markets, Technology, Financial Inclusion, and Economic Growth

The second 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 16-17, 2023.  The meeting will emphasize the relationships between capital markets and technology, and particularly the intersection of the two, and financial inclusion and economic growth. The meeting will be co-organized by Shilpa Aggarwal (ISB) and Amit Seru (Stanford University and NBER).

Priority topics for discussion at the conference include, but are not limited to:

  •  Factors that contribute to financial exclusion, including caste, gender and race
  •  Effects of financial exclusion on economic performance and household well-being
  •  Consequences of government policies and private sector initiatives that seek to reduce financial market frictions and promote access to financial markets
  •  Impact of digital transformation, mobile money and AI/ML in expanding access and reducing frictions
  •  Implications of capital market regulations, including those affecting banks and securities markets, for financial market access by small businesses and low-income households

The conference will spotlight research on the Indian economy and the South Asian region, but studies of other regions that have broad implications are also welcome.  The organizers welcome submissions by scholars who are early in their careers, who are not NBER affiliates, and who are members of under-represented groups. To be considered for inclusion on the program, completed papers must be uploaded by 11:59pm (EDT) on June 28, 2023 via the following link:

http://conference.nber.org/confsubmit/backend/cfp?id=EPIEf23

Please do not submit papers that have been accepted for publication and that will be published by December 2023. In keeping with NBER requirements, papers may not make policy recommendations.  Authors chosen to present papers will be notified in July 2023.  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 to shilpa_aggarwal@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.