October 11-14, 2024

Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park
3111 Fairview Park Drive
Falls Church, Virginia 22042

The Markets & Society Conference aims to bring together scholars, students, and practitioners from various disciplines, ideological perspectives, and backgrounds who seek to advance inquiry, contestation, and research of consequence that are grounded in mainline political economy. This tradition posits that through emergent orders, formal and informal institutions, and the ability to learn from errors, humans can and often do find ways to live better together. Research in this tradition examines governance, resilience, and cooperation as well as the burdens, biases, and injustices that result from human interaction and institutions. Multiple disciplines, methods, and strategies are needed to examine the complexities of social life, ranging from analyzing the economic, political, and social consequences of institutions; understanding and reexamining history; assessing policies that attempt to stymie or encourage particular outcomes; and examining issues of morality and justice.

The conference will include keynote and panel discussions, presentations on contemporary research, and networking opportunities. It begins with an opening reception and dinner on Friday and concludes after lunch on Monday. The conference is open to students, scholars, analysts, and policymakers.

Keynote Speakers

• Paul Dragos Aligica — KPMG Professor of Governance, University of Bucharest; Senior Fellow, F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Mercatus Center

• Nava Ashraf — Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science

• Margaret Levi — Professor of Political Science, Stanford University

• David Schmidtz — Professor and Presidential Chair of Moral Science, Chambers College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University

• Mario L. Small — Chair and Quetelet Professor of Social Science, Department of Sociology, Columbia University

Call for Papers and Session Proposals

We invite scholars, students, and practitioners to submit paper abstracts and entire sessions on the role of markets and society in human life. Such research could explore broad topics, like those below, or particular questions in political economy. 

• How do free and responsible people live peacefully and productively together?

• What are the proper roles and limits of governments and civil society?

• What is the material and moral potential of markets?

• What is the role of contestation, inquiry, and humility in academia and policy?

Please submit your paper abstract or session proposal for the 2024 Markets & Society Conference by March 25, 2024. You will need to provide relevant contact information for you and any coauthors, as well as a paper abstract or session summary with individual abstracts. Selections will be announced in the late spring/early summer of 2024. Presenters are eligible to receive an honorarium of up to $500. If you have any questions, please email marketsandsociety@mercatus.gmu.edu.

Hotel Information

The hotel room block will be $129 per night at Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park. The room block will open up in summer 2024.

Questions

If you have any questions relating to the conference, email us at marketsandsociety@mercatus.gmu.edu.  

Thanks to our generous donors, especially the John Templeton Foundation.