8th World Bank/ODI Global/IFS Public Finance Conference

About the conference

The 8th World Bank/ODI Global/IFS Public Finance Conference, taking place in Washington, DC on September 24-25, 2026, hosted by the Development Economics Vice Presidency and the Fiscal Policy Unit of the World Bank, will bring together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss cutting-edge research on public finance of relevance for low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs).

We primarily focus on research related to low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs), but we also welcome relevant studies from high-income settings. We focus on all areas of public finance, including:

• Tax Policy and Administration
• Subsidies and Compensation/Wage Bill Reforms
• Political Economy of Fiscal Reforms
• Public Financial Management, Public Goods Provision, and Procurement
• Cash Transfers, Social Protection, and Other Poverty Alleviation and Inequality Reduction Programs
• Artificial Intelligence in Public Finance

Keynote Address

The conference will feature a key note presentation from:

Nathaniel Hendren, Professor of Economics at MIT and Founder/Co-Director at Policy Impacts

Format

The conference will take place in person in Washington DC with streaming available for non-presenting attendees. Presenters are expected to attend in person. The organizers will arrange economy-class travel for invited presenters.

Academic Committee

Laura Abramovsky, Pierre Bachas, Anne Brockmeyer, Rishabh Choudhary, Lucie Gadenne, Pablo Garriga, François Gerard, Hazel Granger, Christopher Hoy, Justine Knebelmann, Kyle McNabb, Joana Naritomi, Panayiotis Nicolaides, Marina Ngoma, Oyebola Okunogbe, Thiago Scot, Mahvish Shaukat, Dario Tortarolo, Yani Tyskerud, Ben Waltmann, Mazhar Waseem.

Visit the conference website here for the full programme.