For more than fifty years, the European Winter Meetings of the Econometric Society have fostered interaction among a small group of young scholars, who presented their work by invitation, and a group of senior academics representing different regions and fields of specialization. Many of today’s leading European economists kick-started their careers at one of these meetings (here is a picture of the 1972 meeting). At the turn of the century, the meetings began to focus on PhD students close to finishing their thesis.

In 2013, the European Standing Committee of the Econometric Society decided to widen the scope of the meetings with an open call for submissions without any regional stratification. But the meeting was to retain its distinct identity with three foci: scientific work of the best quality, PhD students on the job market, and close interaction between junior and senior researchers. 

The first European Winter Meeting of the Econometric Society in this new format will take place in Madrid, Spain, on 15-16 December 2014. The meeting will host six parallel sessions of contributed papers and two plenary invited sessions. Program Committee members will take responsibility for organizing and chairing the contributed sessions. They will also provide comments and foster interaction across research fields.