Riederau am Ammersee, 8-10 September 2026

The Department of Economics of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) Transregio “Rationality and Competition” at LMU Munich and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and the Research Unit (RU) “Labor market transformation” at Freie Universität Berlin are organizing a research workshop on "People’s Understanding of and Support for Economic Policies" to be held in Riederau am Ammersee, Germany, on 8-10 September 2026.

The keynote speakers will be Marcella Alsan and Dmitry Taubinsky. Marcella Alsan is the Annie and Ned Lamont Professor of International Studies at Stanford University. 

Interested authors should submit a full paper using this form by 28 February 2026.

Topic

Many societal challenges require the use of economic instruments to change the behavior of individuals, firms, and organizations. Experts provide policy recommendations based on economic theory and ex-post policy evaluation studies, but they are frequently disregarded by policymakers, often due to a lack of public support. Further, voters’ understanding of the state of the economy strongly differs from its actual state, with narratives and vibes playing potential key roles, interacting with mispredictions of own and others’ economic behaviors. The workshop will discuss papers that explore the general public’s understanding of the economy, economic and societal problems, and of economic policies aimed at addressing them. What determines a policy’s popularity, including the role of experiences and beliefs, and how does one make socially desirable economic policies politically acceptable?

Interested authors should submit a full paper using this form by 28 February 2026.

Pre-analysis plans and pre-registered reports will also be considered, with the understanding that results will be available by the time of the workshop. The same logic applies to extended abstracts. Authors who would like to apply for financial support for their travel expenses can indicate it in the form. Decisions of acceptance will be announced by mid-March.