Terms and Conditions

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) describe the terms and conditions on which the National Bureau of Economics (“NBER”, “we”, “us” or “our”) provides access to our NBER website located at http://www.nber.org (the “Site”) and its subdomains, and governs your access to, and use of the Site. These Terms are important, contain legal obligations and affect your legal rights, so please read them carefully. These Terms contain important information regarding limitations of our liability, your indemnification obligations, and a mandatory arbitration of disputes provision that requires the use of arbitration on an individual basis to resolve disputes, rather than jury trials or class actions.

By clicking “I Accept” or by accessing or using our Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. If you do not want to accept all of the terms and conditions of these Terms, including the mandatory arbitration and the class action waiver provisions below, you must immediately discontinue your use and access of the Site.

You and NBER agree as follows:

1. Our Collection and Use of Your Data is Governed by Our Privacy Policy

NBER’s Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use and disclose information about you in connection with your use of the Site. Please review our Privacy Policy carefully before using the Site.

2. Accounts, Account Security and Communication Preferences

As a condition of your use of the Site, you warrant that you are (i) at least 18 years of age or (ii) use the Site under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who has agreed to these Terms.  

If you do not meet the foregoing requirements, you must immediately discontinue your use and access of the Site.

You may need to register for an account (“Account”) in order to access some or all of the features on our Site. It is your responsibility to select a robust password and to prevent disclosure of your login and password, and to change your password if you feel that its security has been compromised. You may change your password at any time. We are not responsible for any damages that result from your failure to keep your password secure. You are responsible for all activity in your Account. If you permit others to use your Account credentials, you are responsible for the activities of such users that occur in connection with your Account.

As part of activating your Account, you are required to provide us with a valid email address and to update your email address if it changes.

By creating an Account or registering to attend one of our events, you also consent to receive electronic communications from NBER (e.g., via email). These communications may include operational notices about your Account or relationship with NBER (e.g., password changes, event confirmations and post-event surveys) and are part of your relationship with us. You agree that any communications that we send to you electronically will satisfy any legal communication requirements, including that such communications be in writing. When permitted by law, we may also send you promotional communications via email, including newsletters, special offers and other news and information we think will be of interest to you. You may opt out of receiving these promotional emails at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions provided.

3. Proprietary Rights – Personal Use Only

The Site and all materials provided therein are provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. The Site may contain information, text, links, graphics, photos, videos, audio, and other materials (“Content”), including Content created with or submitted to the Site by scholars, affiliates or other users, such as academic papers, journal articles and other works of authorship (“Submissions”).   

All Content is owned by NBER and/or is reproduced with permission from other licensors, and may be protected by U.S. and foreign copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. Subject to your complete and ongoing compliance with these Terms, we grant you a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive, revocable, and limited right and license to access and use the Site and Content solely for your personal, non-commercial use; provided, however, that such license and right does not include any right to (a) sell, resell, or rent our Content; (b) copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform or publicly display Content, except as expressly permitted by us or our licensors; (c) modify the Content, remove any proprietary rights notices or markings, or otherwise make any derivative uses of our Site and the Content; (d) use any data mining or similar data gathering or extraction methods; and (e) use our Site and the Content other than for their intended purposes. Except for this limited license granted to you, we reserve all other rights. This license may be revoked and terminated by us at any time and for any reason. Any unauthorized use, reproduction or distribution of the Site or Content is strictly prohibited and may result in termination of the license and right granted herein, as well as civil and/or criminal penalties.

Moreover, all NBER related names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans are trademarks or service marks of NBER. All other names, logos product and service names, designs and slogans on the Site are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. You may not use or display any NBER trademarks, trade names, or logos without our prior written permission. We reserve all rights.

4. Your Submissions

If you provide Submissions to NBER, you represent and warrant that doing so does not violate any other person’s copyright or other proprietary rights. Accordingly, you may only upload Submissions if you are the copyright owner, have the copyright owner’s permission, are permitted to do so under your publishing agreement or the publisher’s copyright policies or your institution’s license agreement, or under a Creative Commons license.

By uploading a Submission to the Site, you hereby grant NBER a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use your Submission in connection with the Site, including, without limitation, the rights to copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, print, allow others to print, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate, and reformat your digital and non-digital Submission, and/or to incorporate it into a collective work. 

Except as otherwise provided herein or pursuant to a separate agreement with NBER, we do not claim ownership of any Submission, and you retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in the Submission. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy or compliance with relevant laws or regulations of any Submission that contains content that is not owned by NBER.

5. NBER is Not Responsible for Third-Party Content

The Site may contain links to third-party web sites, products, and Site (each, a “Linked Third-Party Service”). NBER is not responsible for the content of Linked Third-Party Services and does not make any representations or warranties regarding the content or accuracy of any such content. When you access and use a Linked Third-Party Service, you are subject to that third party's terms and conditions of use and privacy policy and you agree that NBER is not responsible for and has made no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding any Linked Third-Party Service and that NBER shall have no liability relating to such Linked Third-Party Service. Your use of any Linked Third-Party Service is at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such offerings.

6. We May Update or Otherwise Revise These Terms at Any Time

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Changes are effective immediately upon posting. We may notify you via email or through the Site. Your continued use of the Site after receiving notice of changes constitutes acceptance of those changes.

7. You are Prohibited from Using the Site for Certain Purposes

You may use the Site only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to, and you must not use the Site:

• In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the US or other countries).
• For the purpose of exploiting, harming, threatening, harassing or defaming any person, or attempting to do any of the foregoing.
• In any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the Site or interfere with any other person’s use of the Site, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Site.

Additionally, you agree not to, and you must not:

• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site or Content by circumventing any paywall or other security measures using any means.
• Use any robot, spider, or other automatic device, process, or means to access the Site for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Site unless given specific permission to do so by the NBER.
• attempt to reverse engineer any portion of any of the Site or attempt to infringe the intellectual property rights of others in any way.
• Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Site or for any other unauthorized purpose without our prior written consent.
• Use any device, software, or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Site.
• Introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Site, the server on which the Site are stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Site.
• Attack the Site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.
• “Frame,” “mirror” or otherwise incorporate any part of the Site into any other website.
• Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site.

In addition to any rights we may have or remedies we may pursue, we may deny your access to and use of the Site if we believe you have engaged in any activity prohibited under this Section.

8. Disclaimer Regarding International Use

NBER makes no claim that the Site or Content are appropriate or lawful for use or access outside the United States. Furthermore, our databases are located in the United States. If you access the Site from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk. You are solely responsible for complying with all local laws, rules and regulations regarding online conduct and website access. 

9. Limitations of Liability 

Unless expressly otherwise stated by NBER and except where, and only to the extent, prohibited by applicable law:

• In no event shall NBER or any of its affiliates or any of its or their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, advisors and consultants (collectively, “NBER Parties”) be liable to you (whether under contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, warranty or any other legal or equitable theory) for any indirect, incidental, exemplary, special, speculative, punitive or consequential damages (including, without limitation, loss of use, data or information of any kind) in any way arising out of or related to the operation, or your use, of the Site or any Content, even if any NBER Parties have been advised of the possibility of such loss or damages.
• To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you understand and agree that the NBER Parties will not be liable for any type of damages in any way arising out of or related to the operation, or your use, of the Site or any Content. You expressly agree that your use of this Site and the Content is at your own risk. 

10. Disclaimer of Warranty

The Site and the Content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the NBER Parties disclaim all warranties, either express or implied, statutory or otherwise, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, non-infringement of third parties’ rights, and fitness for particular purpose. Your use of the Site and the Content is entirely at your own risk.

Without limiting the foregoing, the NBER Parties make no representations or warranties about the following:

• The accuracy, reliability, completeness, currency, or timeliness of the Content, products, software, functionality, text, graphics, links, or communications provided on or through the use of the Site or NBER, including the substance, accuracy, or sufficiency of any service or product information listed on the Site.
• That the Site will operate without interruption or error.

11. Release

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you release NBER and the other NBER Parties from responsibility, liability, claims, demands, and/or damages of every kind and nature, in any way arising out of or related to the operation, or your use, of the Site or any Content that in any way arise out of or related to the acts or omissions of third parties (“Third Party Disputes”). If you are a California resident, you hereby waive any rights you may have arising out of these Terms under California Civil Code Section 1542, which says "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.” You also waive any rights you may have with respect to Third Party Disputes under any other statute or common law principles that would otherwise limit the coverage of this release to include only those claims which you may know or suspect to exist in your favor at the time of agreeing to this release.

12. Indemnification

You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the NBER Parties from and against any and all claims, causes of action, demands, liabilities, losses, costs or expenses (including, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) arising out of or relating to any of the following matters:

• Your access to or use of the Site or Content;
• Your violation of any provision of these Terms;
• any activity related to your registration by you or any other person accessing the Site or Content through your Account, including, without limitation, negligent or wrongful conduct; or
• your violation of any third party right, including any intellectual property right, publicity, confidentiality, property or privacy right.

13. Dispute Resolution

Please read the following sections carefully because they require you to arbitrate certain disputes, claims, suits, actions, causes of action, demands or proceedings against any NBER Parties that in any way arise out of or relate to the operation, or your use, of the Site or Content (“Disputes”) and limit the manner in which you can seek relief from us in such Disputes. 

1. Waiver of Right to Pursue Class Arbitration or Class Action Claims

You and the NBER Parties agree that each may bring claims or otherwise resolve Disputes against the other party only on an individual basis, and waive any right to pursue any claims as a plaintiff of class member in any purported class or representative action or proceeding. Further, you and the NBER Parties agree that a Dispute will not be brought as a class or other type of representative action, whether within or outside of arbitration, or on behalf of you or any other individual or group of individuals.

2. Limitation on Time to Bring an Action

You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any Dispute brought by you must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose, and that thereafter such claim or cause of action will forever be barred.

3. Agreement to Arbitrate Claims; Waiver of Jury Trial

By agreeing to these Terms, both you and the NBER Parties are waiving the right to a jury trial on certain Disputes that may arise.

Except for Disputes (i) arising out of or related to a violation of Appropriate Use of the Site (“Appropriate Use Dispute”); (ii) in which either party seeks to bring an individual action in small claims court and that qualifies to be filed in small claims court (“Small Claims Dispute”); or (iii) in which either party seeks injunctive or other equitable relief for the alleged unlawful use of intellectual property, including copyrights, trademarks, trade names, logos, trade secrets or patents (“IP Injunctive Dispute”), you and NBER agree to arbitrate all Disputes between you and us. If a Dispute arises between you and us relating to the Site or these Terms, you and we agree that the Dispute shall be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its rules for consumer arbitrations (“AAA Rules”).

You and the NBER Parties agree that each party will notify the other party in writing of any arbitrable or small claims Dispute within thirty (30) days of the date it arises, so that the parties can attempt in good faith to resolve the Dispute informally. Notice to NBER shall be sent by certified mail or courier to NBER, 1050 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138. Your notice must include (a) your name, postal address, telephone number, the email address you use or used for your Account and, if different, an email address at which you can be contacted, (b) a description in reasonable detail of the nature or basis of the Dispute, and (c) the specific relief that you are seeking. Our notice to you will be sent electronically in accordance with the section titled “Accounts, Account Security, and Communication Preferences”, and will include (x) our name, postal address, telephone number and an email address at which we can be contacted with respect to the Dispute, (y) a description in reasonable detail of the nature or basis of the Dispute, and (z) the specific relief that we are seeking. If you and NBER cannot agree how to resolve the Dispute within thirty (30) days after the date notice is received by the receiving party, then either you or NBER may, as appropriate and in accordance with this section, commence an arbitration proceeding or, solely in the case of an Appropriate Use Dispute, Small Claims Dispute, or IP Injunctive Dispute, file such action in court.

You and we agree to the following rules relating to any arbitration proceeding:

You and the NBER Parties waive any right to bring Disputes before any court of law, (except in the case of an Appropriate Use Dispute, Small Claims Dispute, or IP Injunctive Dispute). Rights that you would have if you went to court, such as access to discovery, may be unavailable or limited in arbitration.

The venue for all Disputes arising under these Terms (including both arbitrated Disputes and court actions in any Appropriate Use Dispute, Small Claims Dispute, or IP Injunctive Dispute) shall be in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, but you and we may agree to conduct the arbitration by telephone, online and/or solely based on written submissions. You hereby waive any right to claim that such location is an inconvenient forum and covenant not to sue us in any other forum.

The arbitrator will have the power to grant whatever relief would be available in court under law or in equity (including attorney’s fees) and any award of the arbitrator will be final and binding on each of the parties. The arbitrator will not, however, have the power to award punitive or exemplary damages, the right to which each party hereby waives. The arbitrator also does not have the power to vary the class action waiver provisions.

These Terms affect interstate commerce and the enforceability of this Section shall be both substantively and procedurally governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. (the “FAA”), to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

Any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. All arbitration proceedings will be confidential and all records relating thereto will be permanently sealed to the fullest extent possible under applicable law. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Rules. If, however, you are able to demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive for you as compared to the costs of litigation, NBER will pay as much of the filing, administration and arbitrator fees as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the arbitration from being cost-prohibitive for you.

If 25 or more individuals submit notices or attempt to initiate arbitrations with the NBER Parties raising similar claims, and counsel for the individuals bringing the claims are the same or coordinated (“Mass Claims”), you and the NBER Parties agree that if the claims are not resolved and proceed to arbitration, they shall proceed in staged bellwether proceedings.  You understand and agree that if you choose to initiate your claim as part of Mass Claims, the adjudication of your claim might be delayed. Counsel for the individuals and counsel for NBER shall each select ten cases (per side) to be filed in and proceed in arbitration in a bellwether proceeding to be resolved individually. Each case shall be assigned to a separate arbitrator. In the meantime, no other cases may be filed in arbitration, and AAA shall not accept or administer arbitrations commenced in violation of these procedures. If the parties are unable to resolve the remaining cases after the conclusion of the first stage bellwether proceeding, each side may select another ten cases (per side) to be filed in and proceed in arbitration in a second bellwether proceeding to be resolved individually. Each case shall be assigned to a separate arbitrator. This process shall continue until the parties are able to resolve all of the Mass Claims, either through settlement or arbitration. If these mass arbitration procedures apply to a claimant’s notice, any statute of limitations applicable to the claims set forth in that notice will be tolled from the time the first cases are selected for a bellwether proceeding until the claimant’s notice is selected for a bellwether proceeding, withdrawn, or otherwise resolved. A court will have the authority to enforce these mass arbitration procedures and, if necessary, to enjoin the filing or prosecution of arbitrations.

If any term, clause or provision of this Section is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be so held to the minimum extent required by law, and all other terms, clauses and provisions of this section will remain valid and enforceable. Further, the waivers set forth in this section are severable from the other provisions of these Terms and will remain valid and enforceable, except as prohibited by applicable law.

4. Governing Law

You and the NBER Parties agree that these Terms and any Dispute between you and the NBER Parties relating to your use of the Site will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Massachusetts, without regard to its conflict-of-laws provisions. You and the NBER Parties each agree that any Dispute between the parties that is not subject to arbitration or cannot be heard in small claims court, shall be resolved on an individual basis exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, or the state courts located in Middlesex county, Massachusetts. You and the NBER Parties each consent to the personal jurisdiction of these courts and waives any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction by these courts and to this venue. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, you and the NBER Parties agree that the NBER Parties may commence and maintain an action or proceeding seeking injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. If any provision of these Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Terms remain in full force and effect.

14. Termination

Either you or we may terminate our relationship with regard to the Site at any time, with or without cause. In addition, we may deactivate, terminate or suspend your account at any time: (a) if we, in our sole discretion, determine that you are or have been in violation of these Terms; (b) if we, in our sole discretion, determine that you have created risk or possible legal exposure for NBER; (c) in response to requests by law enforcement or other government agencies; (d) upon discontinuance or material modification of the Site, or (e) due to unexpected technical issues or problems. We may also stop providing the Site or create limits on use of the Site (in each case, whether specifically to you or generally). Termination will not limit any of our other rights or remedies. Any provision that must survive in order to give proper effect to the intent and purpose of these Terms shall survive termination.

15. General Legal Terms

You and NBER further agree to be bound by the following general terms:

• These Terms, along with any additional terms and conditions incorporated herein, constitute the entire understanding by and between NBER and you with respect to the matters contained herein.
• Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. Waivers are effective only if in writing and signed by us.
• Except as described in the section titled Changes to these Terms, these Terms may not be amended unless in writing by us.
• If any provision of these Terms is or becomes unenforceable or invalid, the remaining provisions will continue with the same effect as if such unenforceable or invalid provision had not been used.
• These Terms inure to the benefit of and will be binding upon our and your permitted successors and assigns.
• You must not transfer any of your rights or obligations under these Terms to anyone else without our prior written consent. We may assign or delegate any of our rights and obligations under these Terms.
• A printed version of these Terms and of any related notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in arbitral, judicial, or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to these Terms to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.
• You agree that we may send you notice via email to the email address you have provided, and we are not responsible for your failure to receive notice if email is quarantined by your email security system (e.g., “junk” or “spam” folder) or if you fail to update your email address. You also agree that we may send you notice through the Site or your Account.
• Headings and captions are for convenience only.
• Use of the term “including” shall construed without any limitation.

16. DMCA Notice

1. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the "DMCA") provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you believe in good faith that materials available on the Service infringe your rights under U.S. copyright law, you (or your agent) may send us a written notice by mail or e-mail requesting that we remove such material or block access to it. If you believe in good faith that someone has wrongly filed a notice of copyright infringement against you, the DMCA permits you to send us a counter-notice. Notices and counter-notices must be sent in writing and meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA (see http://www.copyright.gov/ for details), which, with respect to notices of infringement, currently include, among other requirements, the following:
   1. Sufficient information identifying the copyrighted work(s) believed to be infringed.
   2. Sufficient information identifying the allegedly infringing material(s) and the location of such material(s) in order to permit us to locate such material(s).
   3. A statement from the owner (or the owner's authorized representative) of the copyrighted work(s) believed to be infringed that such owner or authorized representative has a good faith belief that the allegedly infringing materials are used in a manner not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
   4. Contact information for the complaining party, including a mailing address, a telephone number and, if available, an email address.
   5. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
   6. A signature or the electronic equivalent from the owner (or the owner's authorized representative) of the copyrighted work(s) believed to be infringed.

Notices and counter-notices must be sent in writing to our DMCA agent using the contact information below.

17. How to Contact Us

For questions or comments regarding these Terms, contact us at webmaster@nber.org, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, or 617-868-3900.

Effective Date: August 1, 2026