4th Credit Union Research Workshop
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Cooperatives, America’s Credit Unions and Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business are organizing the fourth annual Credit Union Research Workshop to promote collaboration, stimulate discussion and share research related to credit unions. A growing body of literature demonstrates significant differences in how credit unions and banks manage risk, price loans, incentivize executives, respond to financial crises, and serve customers.[1] Meanwhile, policymakers and advocates regularly debate credit unions’ tax exemption and whether credit unions continue to fulfill their nonprofit mission.[2]
We welcome the submission of high-quality papers on topics generally related to credit unions, including research directly on credit unions or research on related topics that affect credit unions. Some examples of relevant topics include:
Credit union and bank performance during financial crises and deposit runs.
Credit union risk-taking, risk management and failure.
The non-profit cooperative structure compared to for-profit models of banking.
Differences in interest rates and household outcomes between credit union members and customers of other financial institutions.
Differences in the geographic networks of credit union branches versus commercial bank branches.
Household decision-making and financial institution structure.
Artificial intelligence, machine learning and other new technologies used in loan processing and underwriting.
Auto loan, mortgage and student loan markets.
To facilitate widespread participation and reduce costs, the event is free and will be held virtually from 10am to 1pm (Central time zone) on Friday, January 30th, 2026. The workshop will include 3 - 4 academic papers with discussants, followed by a panel discussion with industry and policy leaders.
Organizing committee:
Jordan van Rijn, PhD Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Andres Shahidinejad, PhD Assistant Professor, D’Amore McKim School of Business & Department of Economics, Northeastern University
Dawit Kebede, PhD Senior Economist, America’s Credit Unions
Important dates:
Please submit your full manuscript in PDF form via e-mail to vanrijn@wisc.edu.
Deadline for submission: November 15th, 2025
Notification of acceptance: December 1st, 2025
Workshop date: January 30th, 2026
[1] For a review of the literature, see: McKillop, D., French, D., Quinn, B., Sobiech, A. L., & Wilson, J. O. (2020). Cooperative financial institutions: A review of the literature. International Review of Financial Analysis, 71, 101520.
[2] For an overview of the tax debate, see the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report Taxation of Credit Unions: In Brief.