Development of the American Economy
Organized by Leah Platt Boustan and William J. Collins
March 28, 2026
Royal Sonesta Hotel, Ballroom B, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA
Format: Authors will be given the full 45 minutes of each session, with questions during the presentation.

Friday, March 27

6:30 pm

Group Dinner at Royal Sonesta Hotel, Skyline Room

Saturday, March 28

8:30 am

Continental Breakfast

8:50 am

Welcome

9:00 am

Bank Runs With and Without Bank Failure

Sergio A. Correia, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
Stephan Luck, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Emil Verner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NBER

9:45 am

Break

10:00 am

Mobilizing Savings, Shaping Regions: The Financial Geography of U.S. Life Insurance

Pawel Janas, California Institute of Technology and NBER

10:45 am

Break

11:00 am

Ideology in Government: Evidence from the Office of Indian Affairs and the Assimilation Era

Eric Chyn, University of Texas at Austin and NBER
Kareem Haggag, University of California, Los Angeles and NBER
Christian Maruthiah, Trinity College Dublin

11:45 am

Lunch - Ballroom A

12:45 pm

Elections and Political Investment

Patrick A. Testa, Tulane University and NBER

1:30 pm

Break

1:45 pm

Rosie the Researcher: How Female WWII Hires Changed Science in US Firms

Moritz Lubczyk, Rockwool Foundation Berlin
Petra Moser, New York University and NBER

2:30 pm

Break

2:45 pm

Legislating Longevity: State Public Health Laws and Mortality in the Early Twentieth Century (slides)

Martin H. Saavedra, Rutgers University and NBER

3:30 pm

Frontline Leadership: Evidence from American Civil War Captains

Christian Dippel, Western University and NBER
Andreas Ferrara, University of Pittsburgh and NBER
Stephan Heblich, University of Toronto and NBER

4:15 pm

Adjourn