The Structural Microeconomics Conference brings together economists working with structural methods to share ideas, discuss common challenges, and foster new collaborations.
The first two editions of the conference were held as organized sessions at the annual meetings of the Southern Economic Association. Starting in 2025, the conference is held at host institutions. The third edition was held at Duke University. The current edition will be held at Rice University on November 20-21, 2026.
For any questions, including signing up to our email list, contact us at structuralmicro@gmail.com.
Organizers: Flávio Cunha, Jorge Luis García, Qinyou Hu, Fan Wang
8–8:55 am Welcome coffee
8:55 - 9 am Organizational info
Session 1. Labor Markets, Matching & Sorting
9 - 9:45 am "How Do Intermediaries Shape Labor Market Efficiency? An Equilibrium Model and Experimental Evidence" (Daniel Haanwinckel, Navdeep S. Sahni, and Caio Waisman)
9:45 - 10:30 am "Job Amenity Bundles, Sorting and Monopsony" (Naoki Aizawa, Minji Bang, and Hanna Wang)
10:30–11 am: Coffee break
11 - 11:45 am "An Empirical Model of Dynamic Two-Sided Matching: Application to the Teacher Labor Market" (Tim Ederer)
11:45 - 12:30 pm "Sequential College Admission Mechanisms and Off-Platform Options" (Olivier De Groote, Anais Fabre, Margaux Luflade, and Arnaud Maurel)
12:30–1:30 pm: Lunch
Session 2. Households: Saving, Wealth & the Life Cycle
1:30 - 2:15 pm "Why Do Households Save and Work?" (Margherita Borella, Mariacristina De Nardi, Fang Yang, and Johanna P. Torres Chain)
2:15 - 3 pm "Drivers of Lifetime Earnings and Wealth: Skills, Frictions and Choices" (Francesco Del Prato, Jonas Maibom, Christopher Taber, and Rune Vejlin)
3–3:30 pm: Coffee break
3:30 - 4:15 pm "Working and Saving Informally: The Link between Labor Market Informality and Financial Exclusion" (Luca Flabbi and Mauricio Tejada)
4:15 - 5 pm "The Puzzle of Household Economies of Scale in Consumption: A Reassessment of Theory and Evidence" (Orazio Attanasio, Vincenzo Di Maro, Aprajit Mahajan, and Elena Pastorino)
5:15 –6:30 pm: Keynote speech by Petra Todd
6:30 pm: Happy hour/Dinner
Session 3. Households, Health & Families
9 - 9:45 am "The DNA of Enterprise: Genetic Endowments, Entrepreneurship and Wealth Distribution" (Qianyu Yang, Naijia Guo, and Weilong Zhang)
9:45 - 10:30 am "Dynamic Mental and Physical Health Production and the Intergenerational Transmission of Health" (Cecilia S. Diaz-Campo, M. Antonella Mancino, and Salvador Navarro)
10:30–11 am: Coffee break
11 - 11:45 am "The Family Multiplier: Understanding Delinquency and Parent–Adolescent Interactions" (Marc K. Chan, Sriya Iyer, Kai Liu, and Anwen Zhang)
11:45 - 12:30 pm "Hypogamy and Sorting" (Frederik Almar, Yusuke Ishihata, Bastian Schulz, and Pengpeng Xiao)
12:30–1:30 pm: Lunch
Session 4. Education, Markets & Public Policy
1:30 - 2:15 pm " The Geography of Higher Education and Spatial Inequality" (Anais Fabre)
2:15 - 3 pm "Optimal Aid Policies: Beyond College Access" (Emily Cook, Chao Fu, and John Stromme)
3–3:30 pm: Coffee break
3:30 - 4:15 pm "Quality Regulation and Market Access: China's Drug Procurement Program" (Shengmao Cao, Karam Kang, Anh Nguyen, and Chuan Yu)
4:15 - 5 pm " Estimating a Dynamic Game of U.S. State Fiscal Policies: Adjustment Costs and Balanced Budgets" (Holger Sieg and Chamna Yoon)