The Macro Finance Research Program (MFR) will host the 2026 MFR Summer Session for Young Scholars, a four-day program for PhD students interested in pursuing research at the intersection of macroeconomics and finance. The 2026 MFR Summer Session will take place August 4–7, 2026, at the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago. Local housing accommodations and travel costs will be covered by MFR for the duration of the session for selected participants.
The MFR Program is led by Professor Lars Peter Hansen, the David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, Statistics, and the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, and recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics. Over four days, University of Chicago faculty will survey and discuss recent research developments across key areas of the macro-finance field. Participants will also have the opportunity to present their ongoing research during structured poster sessions.
The 2026 MFR Summer Session for Young Scholars is generously funded by Edward R. Allen, AM ’85, PhD ’92.
If you have any questions, please direct them to mfrinfo@uchicago.edu.
Agenda
Registration and Breakfast
Registration (Room 408) & Breakfast (420 Lounge)
Welcome Remarks
Lars Peter Hansen, University of Chicago
Efficient Allocations in MFGs
Fernando Alvarez, University of Chicago
Discussion
Break
Marginal Social Valuation and Robust Policy Assessment
Lars Peter Hansen, University of Chicago
Discussion
Lunch and Young Scholars Poster Session
(420 Lounge)
Leverage Dynamics and Their Applications
Zhiguo He, Stanford University
Discussion
Break
On Digital Currencies
Harald Uhlig, University of Chicago
Discussion
Conference Adjourns
Dinner Cruise
First Lady, 112 E Wacker Drive on the Chicago Riverwalk
Registration and Breakfast
Registration (Room 408) & Breakfast (420 Lounge)
How Could the Fed Achieve a Smaller Balance Sheet?
Darrell Duffie, Stanford University
Discussion
Break
International Asset Pricing in Segmented Markets
Rohan Kekre, University of California, Berkeley
Discussion
Lunch and Young Scholars Poster Session
(420 Lounge)
Risk and Return in Government Bonds
Carolin Pflueger, University of Chicago (Presenter)
Adi Sunderam, Harvard University (Co-author)
Matteo Leombroni, Boston College, Carroll School of Management (Co-author)
Discussion
Conference Adjourns
Conference Dinner
Yardbird, 530 N Wabash Ave
Registration and Breakfast
Registration (Room 408) & Breakfast (420 Lounge)
World at Scale: Facts, Models, and Open Questions
Yueran Ma, University of Chicago
Discussion
Break
Finance and Structural Transformation of the Economy: An Intangible Question
Amir Sufi, University of Chicago
Discussion
Lunch and Young Scholars Poster Session
(420 Lounge)
Long-Run Expectations in Finance and Macroeconomics
Stefan Nagel, University of Chicago
Discussion
Conference Adjourns
Registration and Breakfast
Registration (Room 408) & Breakfast (420 Lounge)
Inflation, An Excess Demand Perspective
Guido Lorenzoni, University of Chicago
Discussion
Break
Exchange Rates and Financial Markets
Oleg Itskhoki, Harvard University
Discussion
Lunch
(420 Lounge)