19th RGS Doctoral Conference 2026

About the Conference

We warmly invite submissions to the 19th RGS Doctoral Conference, this year on the theme “Fiscal Challenges”. We welcome high-quality contributions to the conference program and encourage doctoral students to submit their work and engage in discussions with peers. The conference is organised annually by the Ruhr Graduate School in Economics (RGS Econ), rotating between the institutions that founded RGS Econ: Bochum, Duisburg, Dortmund, and Essen. The conference provides a platform for early-career economists—like you—to exchange ideas, learn from one another, build networks, and potentially start collaborative research projects. RGS Econ faculty members, who will chair the sessions, are also available to discuss research ideas and offer feedback. Engage!

As a particular highlight, and aligned with this year’s focus on Fiscal Challenges, the conference will feature a keynote speech by Professor Lars Feld (University of Freiburg) and Professor Jens Südekum (Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf).

We hope the conference will continue to contribute to the advancement of economic research and research-based policy advice through dialogue and mutual understanding, by bringing together early-career researchers and prospective leaders from across Europe and beyond. Comments and suggestions for improving the conference are highly welcome.

Kind regards,
Prof. Dr. Christoph Hanck, Director RGS Econ
Prof. Dr. Christoph M. Schmidt, Director RGS Econ