1st Annual CEP–IFS Labour Economics Conference

The Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) are pleased to announce the 1st Annual CEP–IFS Labour Conference, to be held in London on 15–16 June 2026.

The conference will bring together leading researchers and junior scholars to discuss frontier research in labour economics. The inaugural edition will feature keynote presentations by:

• Andrea Weber (CEU, Vienna)
• Anna Stansbury (MIT)
• Katrine Løken (Norwegian School of Economics)

Conference Theme 

The conference will have a broad labour-economics focus, with particular interest in papers on how wages and careers are shaped by firms and labour market institutions, including:

• Wage determination and inequality
• Labour market power, monopsony, and firm wage-setting behaviour
• Unions, collective bargaining, and the design of labour market institutions
• Worker mobility and career trajectories
• Place-based policies, labour market adjustment, and regional inequality

High-quality submissions on other topics in labour economics are welcome.

Format

The conference will run over two days, with each presentation allocated 40 minutes including discussion. The programme will include invited speakers and contributed papers.

Submissions

Submissions of full papers or extended abstracts are invited.

Submission deadline: 13 February 2026

Please submit papers in PDF format here: CEP-IFS labour conference submission form.

Submissions should include the paper title, authors, affiliations, and a contact email.

Authors will be notified of acceptance in early March 2026.

Participation and Venue

The conference will take place at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) office building. Spaces are limited at this in-person academic conference; please email us if you’d like to request a place.

Unfortunately, we are not able to cover expenses for presenters of contributed papers.

Organisers

The conference is jointly organised by:

• Allison Green (London School of Economics & Centre for Economic Performance)
• Attila Lindner (University College London & Institute for Fiscal Studies)
• Christiane Szerman (London School of Economics & Centre for Economic Performance)
• Hadar Avivi (University College London & Institute for Fiscal Studies)
• Richard Blundell (University College London & Institute for Fiscal Studies)
• Rui Costa (Centre for Economic Performance)
• Stephen Machin (London School of Economics & Centre for Economic Performance)
• Suphanit Piyapromdee (University College London & Institute for Fiscal Studies)

Enquiries

For further information, please contact: @email