Workshop on Development Economics and Networks for Early-Career Researchers
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), with the generous support of National Science Foundation, will host a workshop on network and development economics. The workshop, which is designed to bring early-stage researchers together with more established researchers to discuss the frontier of empirical network research, will be held in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 5, 2026. The workshop will include lectures from senior researchers as well as presentations of work-in-progress by the participants. It will be organized by Emily Breza and Davide Viviano of Harvard University and Arun Chandrasekhar of Stanford.
The workshop will include approximately twenty researchers—dissertation-writing doctoral students and assistant professors within five years of receiving their PhD Travel and lodging expenses for one night will be reimbursed subject to NBER reimbursement guidelines and caps.
Applicants should assemble the following materials in a single PDF file:
- A cover letter that includes complete contact information, as well as the name and email address of a faculty member who could provide a recommendation if the applicant is shortlisted for participation.
- A recent curriculum vitae that includes a list of all current and completed PhD courses.
- A brief statement (no more than 1 page) explaining the motivation for attending the workshop, and the applicant’s current research interests.
- A working paper to present at the workshop. Extended abstracts with key results tables will also be considered.
These materials should be uploaded no later than 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, via the following link:
Applications that are not submitted by the deadline will not be considered. Applicants from all PhD granting-institutions are welcome.
The workshop organizers will review the applications and announce acceptance decisions by mid-October. Please direct questions about workshop content to Emily Breza (ebreza@fas.harvard.edu) and questions about the application process to Anastasia Daukas (daukasa@nber.org). Feel free to share this call for applications.