Call for papers: 8th World Bank/ODI Global/IFS Public Finance Conference

8th World Bank/ODI Global/IFS Public Finance Conference

September 24-25, 2026, in Washington DC, USA | Submission by May 15th, 2026

We are pleased to announce the 8th World Bank/ODI Global/IFS Public Finance Conference, taking place in Washington, DC on September 24-25, 2026, hosted by the Development Economics Vice Presidency and the Fiscal Policy Unit of the World Bank. This annual conference brings together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss cutting-edge research on public finance of relevance for low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs).

We primarily focus on research related to L&MICs but also welcome relevant studies from high-income contexts. We invite submissions across all areas of public finance, including:

• Tax Policy and Administration
• Subsidies and Compensation/Wage Bill Reforms
• Political Economy of Fiscal Reforms
• Public Financial Management, Public Goods Provision, and Procurement
• Cash Transfers, Social Protection and other Poverty Alleviation, and Inequality Reduction Programs
• Artificial Intelligence in Public Finance

We are pleased to feature the following keynote speaker:

• Nathaniel Hendren, Professor of Economics, MIT

Format: The conference will take place in person in Washington DC with streaming available for non-presenting attendees. Presenters are expected to attend in person. The organizers will arrange economy-class travel for invited presenters.

Submission: We invite researchers from both academic and policy institutions to submit a paper (preferable) or an extended abstract of two or more pages by May 15, 2026, by uploading here. We highly encourage submissions that showcase collaborations between researchers and policymakers. The conference will feature a session in which policy makers present their research. We aim to notify the authors of selected papers by June.

Academic Committee: Laura Abramovsky, Pierre Bachas, Anne Brockmeyer, Rishabh Choudhary, Lucie Gadenne, Pablo Garriga, François Gerard, Hazel Granger, Christopher Hoy, Justine Knebelmann, Kyle McNabb, Joana Naritomi, Panayiotis Nicolaides, Marina Ngoma, Oyebola Okunogbe, Thiago Scot, Mahvish Shaukat, Dario Tortarolo, Yani Tyskerud, Ben Waltmann, Mazhar Waseem.

For more information, please visit the 2026 Public Finance Conference website.