SI 2026 Development of the American Economy
Organized by Leah Platt Boustan, William J. Collins, Shari Eli, James J. Feigenbaum, and Eric Hilt
July 13-16, 2026
Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA
Format: Authors will be given the full 50 minutes of each session, with questions during the presentation.
Monday, July 13
8:30am
Coffee and Pastries
8:50am
Welcome
9:00am

Colleges, Assortative Mating, and Intergenerational Mobility in the United States

Ran Abramitzky, Stanford University and NBER
Santiago Pérez, University of California, Davis and NBER
Joseph Price, Brigham Young University and NBER
9:50am
Break
10:00am

Learning by Mail: The Impact of Correspondence Schools in Early 20th Century America

Daniela Vidart, University of Connecticut and NBER
10:50am
Break
11:00am

Southern Academies: The Proliferation of All-White Private Schools after Brown and Their Legacy for Students

Danielle C. Graves Williamson, Boston University
Jennifer R. Withrow, The College of New Jersey
11:50am
Lunch
Egg Timer Presentations
1:00pm

Immigration Restrictions and Natives' Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from the 1920s US Quota Acts

James J. Feigenbaum, Boston University and NBER
Yi-Ju Hung, National Chung Cheng University
Marco Tabellini, Harvard University and NBER
Monia Tomasella, Stanford University
1:10pm

For Richer or Poorer? Marriages of the Extremely Wealthy in American History

Gregory Niemesh, Miami University and NBER
Zachary Ward, Baylor University and NBER
1:20pm

Migration, Diffusion of Ideas and the Rise of the American Labor Movement: Evidence from the American Civil War

Pablo Zarate, University of Mannheim
1:30pm

Where Marriage Ends: The Geography of Divorce in America

Hui Ren Tan, National University of Singapore
1:40pm
Break
2:00pm

Finance and the Slave Trade

Abe De Jong, University of Groningen
Tim Kooijmans, National Taiwan University
Peter Koudijs, New York University
2:50pm
Break
3:00pm

Political Appointments, Careers, and Performance in the Public Sector: Evidence from U.S. Federal Judges

Carlo Medici, University of California, Los Angeles
Massimo Pulejo, University of Milan
3:50pm
Adjourn
Tuesday, July 14
8:30am
Coffee and Pastries
9:00am

The Making of a National Mortgage Market

Victoria Angelova, Harvard University
Leonardo D'Amico, Princeton University
9:50am
Break
10:00am

Regulation in Crisis: Bank Failures and Entry Barriers

Sarah Quincy, Vanderbilt University and NBER
Chenzi Xu, University of California, Berkeley and NBER
10:50am
Break
11:00am

Monetary Policy Shocks and Financial Stability: Evidence from the Great Depression

Matthew S. Jaremski, Utah State University and NBER
Kris James Mitchener, Santa Clara University and NBER
Gary Richardson, University of California, Irvine and NBER
Angela Vossmeyer, Claremont McKenna College and NBER
11:50am
Lunch
Egg Timer Presentations
1:00pm

Malthusian Migrations

Guillaume Blanc, Simon Fraser University
Romain Wacziarg, University of California, Los Angeles and NBER
1:10pm

The Beginning of American Agricultural Grants: The AAA and Cotton Agriculture During the Great Depression

Price V. Fishback, University of Arizona and NBER
Paul Rhode, University of Michigan and NBER
Shawn Kantor, Florida State University and NBER
Keith A. Meyers, U.S. Department of Transportation
Briggs Depew, University of Arizona
Todd Sorensen, University of California, Merced
1:20pm

Displacement and Infrastructure Provision: Evidence from the Interstate Highway System

Pablo A. Valenzuela-Casasempere, Yale University
1:30pm

The Success of the Embedded State in England

Leander Heldring, Northwestern University and NBER
Davis Kedrosky, Northwestern University
James A. Robinson, The University of Chicago and NBER
Matthias Weigand, Harvard University
1:40pm
Break
2:00pm

Tariffs and State Capacity: A Specific Example

Erik Madsen, New York University
Martin Rotemberg, New York University
Sharon Traiberman, New York University and NBER
Shizhuo Wang, New York University
2:50pm
Break
3:00pm

Railroads and the Silver Shoes of Populism: The Rise and Fall of the People's Party in 19th-Century America

Massimo Anelli, Bocconi University
Massimo Morelli, Bocconi University
Marvin Pappalettera
3:50pm
Adjourn
Wednesday, July 15
8:30am
Coffee and Pastries
9:00am

Factories of Ideas? Big Business and the Golden Age of American Innovation

Pier Paolo Creanza, Princeton University
9:50am
Break
10:10am

Network Competition and Exclusive Contracts: Evidence from News Agencies

Quan Le, Harvard University
11:00am
Break
Egg Timer Presentations
11:20am

The Effects of Coerced Sterilization: Evidence from Native American Women

Arcangelo Dimico, Queen's University Belfast
Gaia Narciso, Trinity College Dublin
11:30am

Contagious Cargo: Health Externalities from Livestock Trade during Early Globalization

Grant Goehring, Boston University
11:40am

Caminante, Si Hay Camino: Networks in the First Transatlantic Migration, 1492-1540

Leticia Arroyo Abad, City University of New York
José-Antonio Espín-Sánchez, Yale University
Yannay Spitzer, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ariell Zimran, Vanderbilt University and NBER
11:50am
Lunch
Egg Timer Presentations
1:00pm

The Therapeutic Consequences of the War: World War II and the 20th-Century Expansion of Biomedicine

Daniel P. Gross, Duke University and NBER
Bhaven N. Sampat, Johns Hopkins University and NBER
1:10pm

Separation of Powers or Division of Labor? Patent Interference Disputes, the Grand Narrative, and the History of the Administrative State, 1790-1940

Rebecca Eisenberg, University of Michigan
Naomi R. Lamoreaux, Yale University and NBER
1:20pm

Innovation Nation: The Impact of Broadening Access to Doctoral Education on Ph.D. and Patenting Outcomes

Francisca M. Antman, University of Colorado Boulder
Kirk B. Doran, University of Notre Dame
Xuechao Qian, Ball State University
Bruce A. Weinberg, The Ohio State University and NBER
1:30pm
Break
1:40pm

Public Data Infrastructure and Agricultural Development: Historical Evidence from Soil Mapping

Yiyu Xing, University of California, Los Angeles
2:30pm
Break
2:40pm

Investing in Angels: The Impacts of Lottery Grants to State Clergy

Benjamin Milner, University of Alberta
Matt Lowe, University of British Columbia
Cory B. Smith, University of Maryland, College Park and NBER
3:30pm
Adjourn
Thursday, July 16
8:30am
Coffee and Pastries
9:00am

Moral Regulation and Cultural Production: Evidence from Hollywood

Ruixue Jia, University of California, San Diego and NBER
David Strömberg, Stockholm University
9:50am
Break
10:00am

A Nation of Emigrants: Transatlantic Emigration and Italian National Identity

Davide M. Coluccia, University of Bristol
Giampaolo Lecce, University of Bergamo
Laura Ogliari, University of Bergamo
10:50am
Break
11:00am

Religious Competition and Public Service Provision

Ashrakat Elshehawy, University College London
Mohamed Saleh, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
11:50am
Adjourn and Lunch