SI 2026 Economic Growth and Long-Run Macroeconomic Development
Organized by Michael Peters, Tommaso Porzio, and Pascual Restrepo
July 16-17, 2026
Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA
The format will be 20 minutes for the author, 20 minutes for the discussant, and 20 minutes for general discussion.
Thursday, July 16
8:30 am
Coffee and Pastries
9:00 am

Tax Productivity and Economic Development: A Quantitative Macroeconomic Analysis

Anders Jensen, Harvard University and NBER
David Lagakos, Boston University and NBER
Abdoulaye Ndiaye, New York University

Discussant:
Valerie A. Ramey, Stanford University and NBER
10:00 am
Break
10:15 am

Depreciation and Growth: Evidence from Machine Repair in Uganda

Tilman Graff, Harvard University

Discussant:
Alessandra Peter, New York University and NBER
11:15 am
Break
11:30 am

Misallocation versus Inequality

Chang-Tai Hsieh, The University of Chicago and NBER
Peter J. Klenow, Stanford University and NBER
Emmanuella Kyei Manu, Stanford University
Emma J. Rockall, Stanford University

Discussant:
John Sturm Becko, Princeton University
12:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm

Public R&D Meets Economic Development: Embrapa and Brazil’s Agricultural Revolution

Ariel Akerman, Inter-American Development Bank
Jacob Moscona, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NBER
Heitor S. Pellegrina, University of Notre Dame
Karthik Sastry, Princeton University and NBER

Discussant:
David Argente, Yale University and NBER
2:30 pm
Break
2:45 pm

Financing Innovation: Leverage, Default, and Reallocation

Ufuk Akcigit, The University of Chicago and NBER
Harun Alp, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Ege Y. Ercan, Stanford University

Discussant:
Alp Simsek, Yale University and NBER
3:45 pm
Break
4:00 pm

Firm Specialization vs. Diversification

Anmol Bhandari, University of Minnesota and NBER
Sanhitha Jugulum, Columbia University
Laura Veldkamp, Columbia University and NBER
Venky Venkateswaran, New York University and NBER

Discussant:
Christopher Tonetti, Stanford University and NBER
5:00 pm
Adjourn
Friday, July 17
8:30 am
Coffee and Pastries
9:00 am

Quantifying Knowledge Spillovers Using Firm and Product Dynamics

Mohamad Adhami, Stanford University

Discussant:
Samuel S. Kortum, Yale University
10:00 am
Break
10:15 am

When Does Automating AI Research Produce Explosive Growth? Feedback Loops in Innovation Networks

Tom Davidson, Forethought
Thomas Houlden, Columbia University
Basil Halperin, University of Virginia
Anton Korinek, University of Virginia and NBER

Discussant:
Charles I. Jones, Stanford University and NBER
11:15 am
Break
11:30 am

The Macroeconomic Effect of AI: Sizing the Software Engineering Channel

Jonathon Hazell, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Andreas Schaab, University of California, Berkeley and NBER
Chen Lian, University of California, Berkeley and NBER
Alex Blumenfeld, University of California, Berkeley

Discussant:
Yueran Ma, The University of Chicago and NBER
12:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm

Balancing Growth in a Warming World

Adrien Bilal, Stanford University and NBER
Diego R. Känzig, Northwestern University and NBER
Thibault Ingrand, Stanford University

Discussant:
Ishan B. Nath, Harvard University and NBER
2:30 pm
Break
2:45 pm

Growth, Firm Scale, and the Energy Intensity of Production

Kathryn McDonald, Columbia University
Noémie Pinardon-Touati, Columbia University
Conor Walsh, Columbia University and NBER

Discussant:
Johannes Boehm, Geneva Graduate Institute
3:45 pm

Lost in Transition: Financial Barriers to New Technologies

Philippe Aghion, Collège de France
Antonin Bergeaud, HEC Paris
Maarten De Ridder, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
John Van Reenen, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and NBER

Discussant:
Pablo Kurlat, University of Southern California and NBER
4:45 pm
Adjourn