Summer Conference on Economy and Society

An unusual academic conference has been held every summer for the last twenty years: the Summer Conference on Economy and Society. What began as a small workshop now brings together doctoral students and established researchers from Europe and the United States year after year. The focus is on the exchange of ideas about research at the intersection of economics, politics, and society. This has given rise to a network that shapes career paths and institutional collaborations in the long term.

A small group of researchers in sociology and political economy met at Villa Vigoni on Lake Como in the summer of 2006. This was nothing more than an exploratory workshop, yet that meeting gave rise to a tradition. The approach is unusual: The focus is not on the results of completed research projects or prominent speakers, but on doctoral students—and on discussion. This meeting gave rise to the Summer Conference on Economy and Society, which for twenty years has served as a regular meeting place for early-career researchers as well as professors from leading universities on both sides of the Atlantic. The format is simple: Over the course of four days, keynote presentations by established researchers alternate with intensive workshop sessions in which doctoral students present their dissertation projects. The underlying principle is that advances in research come from continuous academic exchange across institutional, disciplinary, and academic-cultural boundaries. Since its inception, the conference network has included the MPIfG, Sciences Po, and Northwestern University; Brown University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Central European University joined later. Harvard University, Columbia University, and the European University Institute have also been part of the network at times. The conference is held alternately at the participating institutions. Its continuity is remarkable: What began as a one-off initiative has, over the years, become a lasting intellectual bridge across the Atlantic—a forum that connects research traditions and generations of scholars.

Sascha Münnich | MPIfG

As a second-year doctoral student, the conference in 2007 marked an important milestone for my identity-building as a sociologist. It was a chance of listening in to the debates between scholars beyond their well-polished texts. I saw them react to and struggle with fundamental questions of contemporary capitalist societies. From this it became clear that the best sociology does not emerge from a stroke of individual genius, but from engaging with a professional community, calling into doubt everything that is said. The welcoming atmosphere for early thoughts by us young participants convinced me that I wanted to become regular member of this community.

Lydie Cabane | Science Po

I remember vividly the unique chance to engage with world leading scholars at an early stage of my PhD, which definitely stimulated my thinking and ability to think of academia beyond academic borders. I still remember some specific questions that were asked (on moral hazard), as this was one of the first time I presented my PhD research.

Dóra Piroska | CEU

The Economy and Society Summer Schools of the past few years gave me the rare time and space to connect personally with colleagues whose work I had long read and engaged with, but never met in person. I also learned a great deal from the students—their questions and their approaches to research. The panels led to sparkling, thought-provoking discussions, and I felt energized by the diversity of perspectives while also finding comfort in our shared interests in finance, digital social transformation, social and political change, and international political economy. The rhythm of long, scholarly conversations during the day and lively dinner chats in the evening made the experiences uniquely stimulating and genuinely enjoyable.

Ildar Daminov | CEU

Participating in the 2024 Summer Conference on Economy and Society offered us an opportunity to not only receive quality feedback on our work in progress but also establish longer-lasting research partnerships and discover new research approaches. These intellectual exchanges have been instrumental in helping me reflect on my broader methodological approaches and theoretical choices in how I am doing research. Consequently, I have learned to be much more precise in both writing and communicating my academic work.

Josh Whitford | Columbia University

The Summer Conference on Economy and Society holds many happy memories for me. The chance to retreat and just to focus on teaching each other–and each other’s students–across institutions and across disciplines is so valuable but also so rare. I’ve not been able to attend in recent years, but was able to attend many times in the past so got a chance also to meet promising PhD students and, in the years since, to see them blossom into promising junior (and early senior) faculty. To know I played some small part in that development is a joy.

Dialogue between research disciplines

Economic sociology and political economy both concern themselves with capitalism, but they have developed differently within distinct disciplinary and national contexts. European sociology emphasizes institutions, social relations, and the social embeddedness of markets; American political economy is often more concerned with formal models, comparative institutional analysis, and public policy issues. The goal was to establish a lasting dialogue in this area. This motivation became more urgent as the underlying conditions changed. The 2008 financial crisis, growing social inequalities, and the political consequences of economic transformations demonstrated that economic processes cannot be understood without their social and political contexts. Questions about markets also require attention to institutions, cultural practices, and political conflicts. This conference is dedicated precisely to this kind of integrative discussion. The range of topics was deliberately kept broad. The presentations addressed labor markets, welfare states, corporate organization, financial systems, technological change, migration, and processes of ecological transformation. No single paradigm, no narrow canon: The value of the conference lies in familiarizing participants with different theoretical approaches and empirical strategies and encouraging them to situate their research within a broader academic context.

Mark Ebers | Universität zu Köln

Over the years, the summer conferences on economy and society have stood out to me for their exciting, cutting-edge research on timely and highly relevant issues, their respectful discussions that foster the development of ideas, and their welcoming atmosphere for connecting with both new and familiar colleagues. 

Sigrid Quack | Universität Duisburg Essen, MPIfG

Attending the Summer Conference on Economy and Society at Schloss Ringberg in 2007 and 2008, at Northwestern University in Chicago in 2011, and at EUI in Florence in 2013 was deeply inspiring. The conferences’ shared focus and intimate scale fostered valuable academic and personal exchanges among PhD researchers and senior faculty from IMPRS-SPCE partner institutions. The rich mix of leisure and scholarly discussion on cutting-edge topics left all participants—regardless of career stage—intellectually and personally enriched, fostering lasting connections and meaningful follow-up opportunities.

Isabella Bellezza | Central European University

The Summer Conference challenged and expanded my thinking about international political economy through engaging conversations with scholars across a range of theoretical and methodological traditions. It offers a uniquely cross-disciplinary, transatlantic forum for exploring the intersections of economy, politics, and society. I am grateful to have attended as a graduate student and highly recommend it.

Pierre François | Science Po

Memories of the summer school are, first and foremost, memories of places: sometimes anticipated (the wood-paneled rooms of the Kellogg School in Chicago, the upholstered lecture halls at Harvard), sometimes breathtaking (the Tuscan villas of Fiesole), and sometimes delightfully eccentric (the extraordinary setting of Schloss Ringberg).  Above all, however, they are memories of exchanges with colleagues – those of today and those of tomorrow – and of the joy of building both an intellectual and a friendly community with PhD students of exceptional caliber, whose development is further fostered by the exacting standards of the faculty. And finally, there is a longer-term observation: the overall level keeps rising, and it is truly impressive. 

A conference for early-career researchers

The focus of the Summer Conference is on researchers at the very start of their careers. Each partner institution sends a small group of doctoral students, accompanied by faculty members who serve as discussants and moderate the sessions. The presentations feature work in progress, not completed projects. This fundamentally changes the atmosphere. Without the pressure of having to defend research results, the discussions are exploratory rather than competitive. Experienced researchers provide detailed feedback, methodological guidance, and constructive criticism. Equally valuable is the contact between the doctoral students themselves: They encounter research questions and approaches that may not play such a significant role at their home institutions. The Summer Conference is for many their first opportunity to present their research to an international audience. Thus it also serves as a place to learn how to formulate arguments, handle criticism, and situate one’s own work within broader debates.

A close-knit network has developed over the years: faculty members return regularly; former doctoral students who have pursued an academic career sometimes take part again. These encounters have given rise to collaborative projects and institutional partnerships, including doctoral programs between individual partner institutions. In an era of large, fast-paced conferences and congresses, the Summer Conference deliberately follows a different model. With a small number of participants, extended sessions, and a focus on discussion, informal conversations over meals or during walks are considered an integral part of the event, rather than just optional activities. Two decades of experience demonstrate just how irreplaceable these personal interactions are.

Cornelia Woll | MPIfG and Sciences Po

“The 2006 Summer Conference was my first research retreat. It was a great priviledge to discover senior and early career scholars who were all passionate about similar topics. The network formed then and the occasions to go back to these discussion over the years have been essential to my academic career. They have shaped my approach as a researcher and helped me built institutional partnerships that had a lasting impact on the field.”

Magdalena Gil | Columbia University

I participated in the conference in Florence in 2013 and it marked me in different ways. It greatly benefited my research, especially through the encouragement of a professor I deeply admired, who described my dissertation as “brilliant.” His feedback motivated me throughout the final years of my PhD, and it was particularly rewarding to reconnect with him a decade later in Chile, where he still remembered my work on earthquakes and state building. The conference also helped me realize that both professors and graduate students face similar research challenges. I am still in contact with several graduate students I met there and was a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute in Cologne a few years ago thanks to this connection.

Danyang Li | University of California, Berkeley

I participated in the Summer Conference on Economy and Society in 2023 at Northwestern University, where I presented my MA paper. It remains the most intellectually engaged conference I have attended: discussants offered substantive, generous feedback that has stayed with me ever since. What made it truly distinctive, however, was its sense of community. The small group format brought together longtime colleagues and newcomers alike, and I found myself in rare conversations with senior scholars and peers that felt as natural and warm as they were intellectually serious. I left feeling, for the first time, that I had found my academic home.

Bruce Carruthers | Northwestern University

With the possible exception of Jens Beckert, I have been to more summer conferences than anyone. Experience has taught me to look forward to each event, knowing that I will hear about interesting research done by young scholars, will meet new faculty and renew my ties with returning faculty. Student participants from the earliest years are now senior scholars at major universities, and many faculty participants have retired. Yet for all the change, these conferences never fail to succeed, and the questions remain as interesting as the answers. Am I stepping into the same river twice?
Bruce G. Carruthers

The value of continuity

Since its inception, the conference has been held annually. The only interruption was during the pandemic when one meeting was held online. It is precisely this consistency that has become one of its greatest strengths. Core themes such as capitalism, inequality, and social change recur regularly—each time in new empirical or theoretical contexts—and thus shape the development of academic research in a quiet yet lasting way. The value of the Summer Conference thus also lies in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. It supports early-career researchers during a formative phase, as they test ideas, refine research designs, and build professional networks. At the same time, it keeps the dialogue between different academic traditions alive. In an academic system increasingly shaped by specialization and competition, such open forums for discussion are not a given. By bringing together doctoral students and experienced researchers and bridging European and American traditions, the conference strengthens the ability of the social sciences to understand economic and social transformations.

The Summer Conference was never intended to be a spectacular event. Its significance lies in its continuity and the depth of the exchange it facilitates. What began as a one-off gathering has evolved into a community—and what started as an idea has become a practice that demonstrates how scholarship works at its best. The Summer Conference will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in 2026. When it was founded, the goal was to foster an ongoing dialogue between economic sociology and political economy. The 2023 conference was held at Northwestern University in Chicago.