2026 Firms’ Cost of Capital, Discount Rates, and Investment Conference
The 2026 Firms’ Cost of Capital, Discount Rates, and Investment Conference will be held on April 15-16. Rising inflation, changes in interest rates, and fluctuations in equity markets should in theory affect the cost of capital, corporate discount rates, and ultimately investment. Research discussed at this conference will shed light on these channels.
Presentations for the conference will be 40 minutes in length, including questions. After each presentation, there will be a 10-minute open discussion, moderated by the chair.
Agenda
Welcome Lunch
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Kilian Huber, University of Chicago
Financial Dominance of Monetary Policy
Speaker: Viral Acharya, New York University
Session Chair: Stefan Nagel, University of Chicago
Break
Policy Uncertainty, Financial Conditions and Macroeconomic Outcomes
Speaker: Simon Gilchrist, New York University
Session Chair: Walker Ray, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Break
Speaker: Martin Schneider, Stanford University
Session Chair: Taisiya Sikorskaya, University of Chicago
Break
Speaker: Nicolae Garleanu, Washington University
Session Chair: François Gourio, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Conference Concludes
Conference Dinner
By invitation only
Breakfast
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Niels Gormsen, Copenhagen Business School / University of Chicago
Firms’ Discount Rates and Investment
Speaker: Kilian Huber, University of Chicago
Break
Firms' Beliefs and FOMC Meetings
Speaker: Wei Xiong, Princeton University
Session Chair: Anil Kashyap, University of Chicago
Break
Set in Stone: The Persistence and Origins of Corporate Culture
Speaker: Kai Li, University of British Columbia
Session Chair: Virginia Minni, University of Chicago
Lunch
(Why) Have Financial Markets Become More Volatile? The Role of Market Index Trading
Speaker: Tyler Muir, University of California, Los Angeles
Session Chair: Lubos Pastor, University of Chicago
Break
Categorical Thinking about Interest Rates
Speaker: Kelly Shue, Yale University
Session Chair: Raghuram Rajan, University of Chicago