Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Submission deadline: June 30, 2023

The 5th conference on “Nontraditional Data, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing in Macroeconomics” will be held on November 13 and 14, 2023, at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. This year’s conference is organized by the Federal Reserve Board jointly with the Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA) and the Economics with Nontraditional Data and Analytical Tools (ECONDAT) Program.

The goal of the conference is to promote the discussion and dissemination of innovative research on theoretical and empirical advances in macroeconomics and financial economics that are based on nontraditional data, machine learning, artificial intelligence tools, and natural language processing.

The conference committee invites submissions of research on topics related, but not limited, to

• research focused on novel ways of forecasting, nowcasting, or modelling the macroeconomy;
• new data and methods to analyze drivers of inflation, including wages, energy prices, and supply chain distress;
• the use of large, granular structured or unstructured data, such as payments and mobility data, to predict or understand the state of the economy and/or monitor the financial sector;
• new computational and econometric methods, including machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence;
• big data topics covering businesses, households, financial markets, labor markets, monetary policy, or fiscal policy; and
• new estimation methods, techniques, and data sources (e.g., satellite image data) for climate research.

Submission procedures
We invite authors to submit completed papers or extended abstracts through the CVENT portal by June 30, 2023.  Extended abstracts should be 2 to 4 pages in length and include a motivation for the research question, methodology, data sources if an empirical study, and a description of expected research findings and policy implications. A strong preference will be given to completed papers. The Scientific Committee will review and select submissions for presentation, and authors of accepted papers will be notified by September 1, 2023. (Travel funding may be available for academic presenters.)

Questions about the call for papers can be submitted by email to [email protected].

About the ECONDAT Program
The ECONDAT Program consolidates efforts by multiple central banks; which to date includes the Bank of Canada, Bank of England, Bank of Italy, European Central Bank, Federal Reserve, and the Sveriges Riksbank; to create a community of researchers across diverse fields (including economics, data science, statistics, and computer science) and institutions (academic and non-academic). To further grow this community, the program will organize regular conferences on nontraditional data and analytical methods in economics. These interactions are targeted at fostering an environment that will spur cutting-edge research and tools of relevance for academics, policymakers, and statistical agencies.

Organizing Committee:

• Ricardo Correa, Division of International Finance, Federal Reserve Board
• Olesya Grishchenko, Division of Monetary Affairs, Federal Reserve Board
• Christopher Kurz, Division of Research and Statistics, Federal Reserve Board

Scientific Committee:

• Miguel Acosta, Federal Reserve Board
• Giuseppe Bruno, Bank of Italy
• Tomaz Cajner, Federal Reserve Board
• Leland Crane, Federal Reserve Board
• Ajit Desai, Bank of Canada
• Maryam Haghighi, Bank of Canada
• Benjamin Johannsen, Federal Reserve Board
• Andreas Joseph, Bank of England
• Juri Marcucci, Bank of Italy
• Paul Soto, Federal Reserve Board
• Francisco Vazquez-Grande, Federal Reserve Board
• Isabella Wolfskeil, Federal Reserve Board
• Xin Zhang, Sveriges Riksbank