The G53 Financial Literacy and Personal Finance Research Network and Stanford's Initiative for Financial Decision-Making is pleased to announce its Financial Literacy Research Boot Camp, which will take place at Stanford University in June 2025. This is an outstanding opportunity for PhD students, postdocs, early-career researchers, and assistant professors to learn from the leading financial literacy and personal finance experts. It is particularly well-suited for those interested in financial decision-making, financial literacy, financial education, household finance, and applied econometrics.

The overarching aim of the boot camp is to enrich research, facilitate the exchange of ideas among young researchers, and serve as a springboard for the creation of a support network for the next generation of researchers in the field.

Annamaria Lusardi, an AEA member, Co-chair of the G53 Network, Director of the Initiative for Financial Decision-Making (IFDM) at Stanford University, and a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, is spearheading this boot camp. The boot camp is co-funded by the Stanford’s Initiative for Financial Decision-Making (IFDM) and by Joachim Herz Stiftung (JHS). 

When and Where

The boot camp will be held on the Stanford University campus on Monday, June 23 through Friday, June 27, 2025. A welcome dinner will be organized on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

Program

Participants of this five-day, full-immersion workshop will be exposed to research methodology in financial literacy and personal finance, including survey design, measurement, and theoretical models of financial decision-making. Participants will also learn how to conduct impact evaluations in an experimental setting. The workshop will begin the morning of Monday, June 23 and conclude early afternoon on Friday, June 27.

Participation

The Financial Literacy Research Boot Camp will include approximately 20 participants and is restricted to assistant professors, early-career researchers, postdocs, and those currently enrolled in PhD programs. For those who are PhD students, they must have completed at least one year of PhD coursework. All participants must have or be working towards a PhD in economics, finance, or a related field. Participants are expected to read assigned research ahead of the boot camp.

Reasonable transportation, food, and lodging costs will be covered.

Application

Applications will be reviewed by a committee made up of the G53 Network leadership.

Required application items:

• CV
• Brief, one-to-two-page essay summarizing the applicant’s research work (current and intended) as well as the reasons for wanting to attend the boot camp.
• Two letters of recommendation from: (1) a current or former PhD advisor and (2) another scholar familiar with the research work.

Please assemble the application into one PDF file. It should include, in this order, the essay and the CV. Letters of recommendations should be sent directly to contact@g53network.org.

Submit the application via email to contact@g53network.org, no later than Monday, April 7, 2025. Letters of recommendation should be sent within the same deadline.

Acceptance decisions will be announced in early-May 2025. Questions regarding the boot camp should be directed to Kristen Burnell at kburnell@stanford.edu.