The 2nd Conference on Institutions and Prosperity ─ Supporting Firms and Workers will feature academics, development organizations and policymakers to share research findings, best practices, and innovative approaches to improve public institutions. 

It will be organized around the following core questions:

• Labor demand: How does institutional capacity (and lack thereof) affect private sector growth and productivity?
• Labor supply: What institutions support effective skills development and workforce participation, and what are the capacity constraints that keep them from achieving their goals?
• Enabling the labor market as a whole: What are the implications for firms and workers when the institutions specifically designed to address jobs and labor issues have low capacity?
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The keynote speaker will be Ufuk Akcigit, Arnold C. Harberger Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. 

The conference will take place in person in Washington, DC on January 28-29, 2026, with streaming for non-presenting attendees. Presenters are expected to join in person. The organizers will arrange travel and accommodation for invited presenters.

Call for Papers:

The call for papers is now closed. Notification of acceptance will be given by Friday December 12, 2025 at the latest. Please note that in-person presentation of the accepted papers is strongly preferred. Details will be circulated after notification of acceptance.  

The best paper submission will be selected for an award, to be given at the end of the conference. 

Also See:

Inaugural World Bank Conference on Public Institutions for Development ─ Enabling the Private Sector