The Ronald Coase Institute
Workshop on Institutional Analysis
December 6-12, 2026 Mexico City, Mexico
Co-sponsored by
Instituto Technológico Autónomo de Mexico (ITAM)
Mexico City Cathedral
Applications are closed.
Young scholars worldwide are eligible to apply. Twenty-six participants will be selected competitively.
The workshop will take place at ITAM, a distinguished private university in Mexico. Founded in 1946, it focuses on social science research and produces outstanding PhD scholars and policymakers. ITAM is located in a quiet and picturesque neighborhood of Mexico City. See ITAM's program.
Attend this workshop to
Present your research in a small, focused setting, with intensive discussion
and feedback from faculty and other participants:
- first within a small group, with faculty guidance,
- after revising, formally to the entire workshop.
Ten full-time faculty will provide intensive mentoring.
Hear the faculty discuss their research and strategies to formulate questions, develop analysis, and communicate results.
Network closely with faculty and other young scholars with an enduring interest in institutional analysis. After the daily sessions, enjoy informal conversations during delicious dinners. Upon graduation, become part of a scholarly network with alumni from 78 countries.
The pace is intense and rewarding. Participants must attend all sessions and give as well as receive feedback.
Who is eligible?
Social scientists early in their academic or professional careers and advanced graduate students, in economics, political science, law, and other social sciences. Work already published is not eligible, and previous participants are not eligible to apply again.
Selection
Twenty-six participants will be selected competitively on the basis of their research abstracts, CVs, and references. Abstracts will be evaluated on the clarity and importance of the research question, the analysis, and the institutional focus. Projects with empirically testable implications are preferred. Admissions decisions will be announced in August.
How to apply: Applications are closed
Apply online at https://www.coase.org/workshopapplication.htm
There you will need to upload your research abstract (350 words max), 1-page CV, statement of purpose, and the names of two references. Please submit all materials in English, the language of the workshop.
Costs
The cost of the workshop – tuition, meals, and housing - is $2500 USD. Many fellowships will be awarded competitively in varying amounts to scholars for whom the workshop cost is a hardship, to cover part
of the costs of tuition, meals, and housing. If you wish to be considered for a fellowship, upload your fellowship request with your application. All participants must stay in workshop housing,
and all participants are responsible for paying their own travel expenses.
Faculty
Workshop faculty will include Emilio Depetris-Chauvin (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Sebastian Galiani (University of Maryland), Marc Goñi (University of Bergen, Norway), Philip Keefer (Inter-American Development Bank), Gary Libecap (University of California – Santa Barbara, Emeritus), Cheryl Xiaoning Long (Xiamen University and Ronald Coase Institute), Claude Menard (University of Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne, Emeritus), Roger Myerson (University of Chicago), Mary Shirley (Ronald Coase Institute), Alberto Simpser (ITAM), and more.
Organizers and administrators
The organizers are Alexandra Benham (Ronald Coase Institute), Cheryl Xiaoning Long (Xiamen University and Ronald Coase Institute), Mary Shirley (Ronald Coase Institute), and Alberto Simpser (ITAM). The administrators are Darin Hargis (Ronald Coase Institute) and Ana María González Franco (ITAM).
Coase Institute Alumni Conference in Fontainebleau, France - July 16, 2026
Alumni, save the date!
The fourth annual alumni conference of the Coase Institute will be held at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France on Thursday, July 16, 2026. This event will immediately follow the SIOE 2026 meetings there. There will be research presentations by alumni plus lively conversations and networking, and the day will close with a gala dinner. Further details soon.
See 2025 scenes and program here.
Hoover Institution and Ronald Coase Institute
Conference on Institutional Barriers to Climate Adaptation
Palo Alto, California, USA - May 18, 2026
This one-day academic workshop, hosted by the Hoover Institution and the Ronald Coase Institute, gathered 30-40 junior and senior scholars from around the world to discuss research on how institutions hinder or promote climate adaptation. The conference was also broadcast as a live webinar via Zoom. See agenda, details, and the link and passcode.
FREE: Handbook of New Institutional Economics, Second Edition
Handbook of New Institutional Economics, Second Edition, edited by Claude Menard and Mary Shirley, has just been published by Springer and is available free.
This book is a comprehensive reference work that provides an overview of broad orientations and recent developments in institutional analysis. This second edition includes 21 new chapters on political and legal institutions, organizations and contracts, regulation, culture, methodology, and institutional change.
Chapters have been written by highly respected scientists in the field, including Ronald Coase, Douglass North, Elinor Ostrom, Oliver Williamson, and Roger Myerson, all Nobel recipients, and numerous other leading NIE scholars. The Handbook offers an introduction to NIE for students and young researchers , and it offers all scholars a reference book for their research.
Download the Handbook here.
This Handbook has been made open access - giving you free and unlimited access - thanks to a generous donation made for that purpose in honor of the Ronald Coase Institute. with the hope that it will encourage additional donations to the Institute. To consider supporting the Coase Institute's work, click on "Make a Gift" at page bottom here. Donations of any size help the Institute further assist young scholars and research programs.
The Handbook is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Second Authors' Lecture in NIE Book Series
Gary Libecap spoke about his forthcoming book, Where's Coase? Transaction Costs Reduction or Rent-Seeking in the Formation of Institutions, online January 23, 2025. See details.
Inaugural Authors' Lecture in NIE Book Series
Douglas W. Allen and Bryan Leonard spoke about their forthcoming book, Why The Rush? An Institutional Analysis of Homesteading and the Settlement of the West, online Wednesday October 23, 2024. See details.
NOW FREE: Advanced Introduction to New Institutional Economics
Advanced Introduction to New Institutional Economics by Claude Menard and Mary Shirley, published by Edward Elgar Publishers in 2022, is now available free. This book explores NIE’s answers to fundamental questions about the organization, growth, and development of economies. Why are some countries rich and others poor? Why are activities organized as firms or markets or through alternative organizational solutions? When are shared resources overexploited?
Download book here.
This book has been made free thanks to a donation made for that purpose in honor of the Ronald Coase Institute, with the hope that it will encourage additional donations to the Institute.
Inspired by Ronald Coase's faith in the power of excellent research and the potential of young scholars to change the way problems are viewed, the Institute works to build the capacity of outstanding young scholars around the world to do research on institutions in their own countries. It holds workshops and provides mentoring and support for nearly 700 alumni. To consider supporting the Institute's work, click on "Make a Gift" at page bottom. Donations of any size help the Institute further assist young scholars and research programs.
This book is Open Access, licensed under the Creative Common Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 License.
Scott Gehlbach joins Coase Institute Board of Directors
Scott Gehlbach has joined the Board of Directors of the Ronald Coase Institute. Gehlbach is the Elise and Jack Lipsey Professor in the Department of Political Science, the Harris School of Public Policy, and the College at the University of Chicago. He has been a frequent faculty member at Coase Institute workshops, panels, and conferences. He is currently President-Elect of the Society for Institutional and Organizational Economics.
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Scott Gehlbach
Who We Are
See this video about the Ronald Coase Institute.
(Also accessible on YouTube)
Workshop comments:
"Superlative experience" (Boulder)
"Famous scholars and delicious food" (Shanghai)
"Most exciting workshop I have attended" (Singapore)
"Demanding, intensive and mentally exhausting...also one of the most rewarding" (Philippines)
"Best learning experience within last 31 years" (Bratislava)
"Academic-life-changing experience, no kidding" (Beijing)
"One of the best things I've done in my career" (Warsaw)