2023 Annual Conference Call for Abstract Submissions

Call for Late-Breaking Abstract Submissions

To further enrich the conference program, the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis has opened a call for late-breaking abstract submissions and extended the deadline for submitting proposals to present online at its 2023 Annual Conference to be held on March 9-10 in person at The George Washington University, Washington, DC, and March 13-14 online.

We are pleased to welcome back participants of our Annual Conference to meet in person in addition to building on the success of the last two years’ online conferences by also allowing for participants who are unable to attend conferences in person. To facilitate conference planning, during the abstract submission process you will be asked to choose between presenting in person, online, or either (at the discretion of the Program Committee). To be guaranteed consideration by the Program Committee, 

  • Submissions to present in person (or either, at the discretion of the Program Committee) must be received by October 31, 2022.

  •  Submissions to present online only must be received by December 5, 2022. 

In addition to choosing whether you will present in person or online, you may choose to submit an individual research presentation, in which case the Program Committee will combine it with other presentations to form a session, if accepted. Alternatively, you may choose to submit an organized session in one of four formats: (1) A set of four individual research presentations, (2) A set of three individual research presentations and a discussant, (3) A roundtable discussion with a chair and up to six speakers, or (4) An innovative session with a format to be determined by the session organizer.

To promote widespread participation, submissions are limited to one abstract per presenter, although you may be listed as co-author on an unlimited number of other presentations. In addition, you may submit two abstracts if one is for an individual presentation and the second is part of an organized session.

Submit your abstract>>


To submit your proposal using our online form, you will need to provide the following information:

  • Whether your submissions should be considered for an in-person session, an online session, or either (at the discretion of the Program Committee)
    • Please note that no changes to the method of delivery may be made after the abstract submission period closes, as all session slots are limited in number and acceptances will be based on the method of delivery.
  • Contact information for each speaker, including name, affiliation, email address, and mobile phone number.
    • If your submission is to be considered for an online session, you will also be asked to provide your preferred time zones. The Program Committee make every attempt to accommodate your preferences if your submission is accepted.
  • Topic area that best describes the focus of your presentation or panel. Your selection will aid the Program Committee in assigning reviewers and, if accepted, in organizing the conference schedule.
    • The choices include:
      • Crosscutting Theory and Methods
      • Distribution and Equity
      • Education, Training, Labor Force
      • Energy, Natural Resources, Environment, Water
      • Finance, Financial Markets, International Trade
      • Food, Nutrition, Agriculture
      • Health Care System, Health Insurance, Medical Care, Public Health
      • International Development
      • Policing, Military, Homeland Security
      • Transportation and Infrastructure
      • Other (if you select this option, you will be asked to specify the topic later in the form)
  • Proposal type, including descriptive information as follows:
    • For an individual presentation, a list of any co-authors, a title, and an abstract.
    • For a session of research presentations, the chair; the speaker, co-authors, title, and abstract for each individual presentation; the discussant (if only three presentations); and a title and abstract for the overall session. The Program Committee reserves the right to select only a subset of the abstracts for presentation or to reorganize the panels if needed.
    • For a roundtable, the chair, speakers (indicate confirmed or tentative) a title, and abstract.
    • For an innovative session, a detailed description for review by the Program Committee and information on previous experience with similar sessions, as well as a title and an abstract.

The presentation and panel titles are limited to 80 characters and abstracts are limited to 300 words. As relevant, the abstracts should include an introduction/problem statement, method, results, and any conclusions. Consider addressing the following questions: (1) What research question(s) are you trying to answer? (2) Does the paper present new data or new analysis of existing data? (3) What is novel about this research? and (4) What did you find?

Submission of an individual presentation, session, or roundtable is viewed as a firm commitment to participate in the conference if accepted.

Jerry Ellig Award for Best Student Presentation at the Annual Meeting: To honor Jerry’s inspirational legacy, the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center established a recurring prize at the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis Annual Conference for the best graduate student paper that applies economic, law, political science, policy analysis, and/or public administration concepts to real policy problems. As a result, we encourage full-time students to submit their research abstracts for consideration.

Submit your abstract>>