2027 Stanford Financial Education Symposium

Call for Papers

Submit submissions here by January 31, 2027.

The Stanford Initiative for Financial Decision-Making and our event sponsor, the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), are excited to announce the 2027 Stanford Financial Education Symposium. The Symposium, which will take place on April 8-9, 2027, in conjunction with Financial Literacy Month in the United States, offers an ongoing forum for the presentation and discussion of research on financial education, financial literacy, and household financial decision-making. It welcomes papers that advance academic research, inform policy, and identify effective approaches to improving financial decisions and financial well-being.

The Symposium will be held on the Stanford Graduate School of Business campus. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2027. The Symposium seeks rigorous research on financial education, financial literacy, and household financial decision-making. Areas of interest include:

• Household financial decision-making: Papers on the factors that shape saving, investing, borrowing, and financial risk-taking, including participation in speculative investments and sports betting, and their implications for financial well-being.
• Wealth building early in life: Papers on how families build assets for children and support their future financial well-being, including the role of 529 accounts, Trump accounts, and other savings and investment vehicles.
• Technology and financial decision-making: Papers on how digital tools and emerging financial products affect financial knowledge, behavior, and the allocation of household savings.
• Evaluation of financial education programs: Papers that assess the effects of financial education programs and initiatives on financial knowledge, behavior, and other outcomes, including technology-enabled instruction and other modes of delivery. Studies using field experiments and other credible causal designs are especially welcome.
• Financial education in schools and higher education: Papers on the availability of financial education courses and related offerings in K-12, college, and university settings.
• Other settings and approaches: Papers on financial education in workplaces and other community or online contexts, and other work on financial literacy and personal finance that advances research or informs policy.

Academic faculty and researchers in economics and related fields studying financial education, financial literacy, or household financial decision-making are encouraged to submit papers. We also welcome papers from advanced PhD students. The program includes a special session dedicated to student research and a poster session.

Authors of selected papers may be invited to submit to the Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing.

The Symposium also features two awards:

The Financial Literacy Research Award, which includes a prize of $5,000 for the best submitted paper. The Rising Financial Literacy Scholar Award, which includes a prize of $1,000 for the best submitted paper by a PhD student.

Event Details:

Thursday, April 8, 2027 – Friday, April 9, 2027

How to Submit:

Please complete the submission form and upload a complete paper (PDF) by 11:59 PM Pacific Time on January 31, 2027. Working papers and papers under review are welcome. Submissions will be reviewed by the program committee, and authors will be notified of decisions in early March, 2027. Questions may be submitted through that form as well.