St. Louis Fed-WashU Human Capital Conference

Registration required to attend.

Registration deadline: October 1, 2026, 5 p.m. (CT)

Presenters: 
Titan Alon, University of California, San Diego
Damien Capelle, International Monetary Fund
Julieta Caunedo, Cornell University
Klaus Desmet, Southern Methodist University
Burhan Kuruscu, University of Toronto
Alexander Ludwig, European University Institute
Hannes Malmberg, University of Minnesota
Kjetil Storesletten, University of Minnesota

Thursday, October 8, 2026
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
River Room
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Lunch (St. Louis Room)
1:30 – 2:15 p.m. Julieta Caunedo, Cornell University
“Constructing Structural Change,” with Mayara Felix and Kristina Manusheva
2:15 – 2:30 p.m. BREAK
2:30 – 3:15 p.m. Hannes Malmberg, University of Minnesota
“Economic Development According to Chandler,” with Niklas Engbom, Tommaso Porzio, Federico Rossi, and Todd Schoellman
3:15 – 3:30 p.m. BREAK
3:30 – 4:15 p.m. Damien Capelle, International Monetary Fund
“The Direction of University Research and Teaching,” with Titan Alon and Kazushige Matsuda
4:15 – 4:30 p.m. BREAK
4:30 – 5:15 p.m. Alexander Ludwig, European University Institute
“Population Aging and the Market for Higher Education: Implications for Education Finance Reform,” with Dirk Krueger and Irina Popova
5:15 – 6:45 p.m. Reception (St. Louis Room)
7:30 p.m. Dinner (by invitation only)

Friday, October 9, 2026
Washington University in St. Louis
Location Harry and Susan Seigle Hall, room 301
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 9:45 a.m. Burhan Kuruscu, University of Toronto
“Book-Value Wealth Taxation, Capital Income Taxation, and Innovation,” with Fatih Guvenen, Gueorgui Kambourov, and Sergio Ocampo Diaz
9:45 – 10:00 a.m. BREAK
10:00 – 10:45 a.m. Klaus Desmet, Southern Methodist University
“Human Capital Accumulation Across Space,” with Dávid Krisztián Nagy and Esteban Rossi-Hansberg
10:45 – 11:00 a.m. BREAK
11:00 – 11:45 a.m. Kjetil Storesletten, University of Minnesota
“When Job Loss Raises Wages: Amenities vs. Learning and Misperceptions for Low-Wage Workers”
11:45 p.m. Lunch, Location Harry and Susan Seigle Hall, room 306

FRB-STL Event Page