The Conference and Summer School for the Society of Experimental Finance took place in Stavanger in June 2024. For the first time, the event included a networking session with a focus on women in finance. The goal of this initiative was to provide mentoring for young female researchers, and a networking opportunity for all women who are part of the society. In the event, there was a panel, which included senior researchers and local/regional business leaders (from HitecVision, DSD and Herfo Finans), where panelists shared their experiences, discussed barriers they have faced and/or are facing, and how they had overcome them. There was an active exchange of ideas between the panel and the attendees. We believe that this was a very important initiative, since the pipeline from assistant to full professors for women in finance has almost 60% attrition.
Our conference also featured only female keynote speakers, which is a rarity in the field. Furthermore, the keynote speakers were from non-experimental fields, with the goal of forming better links between traditional finance methods and the experimental approach. This somewhat interdisciplinary approach is instrumental in increasing our understanding of the financial markets.
The outcomes of the proposal are :
1. Disseminate scientific findings regarding the impact of financial markets on the society.
2. Improve the understanding of ethical issues in financial markets.
3. Enhance the gender diversity in the finance field.
4. An interdisciplinary dialogue between the different methodologies in our field.
The impacts of the proposal are:
1. Help policymakers and practitioners select appropriate policies to improve the functioning of financial markets.
2. Propose new policies to enhance the ethics of the financial system.
3. Contribute to the formation of new researchers that use novel methods of tackling new challenges in the financial sector.
The project consists of two parts: (1) Ph.D. summer school and (2) annual world meetings for the Society of Experimental Finance in June 2024. About 500 people are currently members of the Society for Experimental Finance (website: https://www.experimentalfinance.org/home). Both activities present and discuss topics relevant to the function and ethics of financial markets.
The Summer School brings together 30 Ph.D. students from around the world for an intensive 2-day workshop, offered by experts in the field. The summer school is scheduled for 8-10 June, 2024. Olga Rud (Project Manager) offered a module for the 2023 Summer School, and for 2024 Olga plans to teach jointly with other experts. Nadya Malenko (Boston College) has already confirmed her participation in both the summer school, and the conference, as a keynote speaker. Michaela Pagel (Washington University) and Elena Asparouhova (U. Utah) have confirmed their participation as well.
The Conference follows the Summer School with about 80 scientific contributions and 3 female keynote speakers. The topics for this year are centred on Corporate Governance. The conference is scheduled for 10-13 June, 2024. The sessions combine presentations from Ph.D students and Professors.
In addition to the scientific presentations, the conference includes a novel mentoring session: women in finance. We have also confirmed the participation of the Stavanger Chamber of Commerce Finance Network. The session seeks to improve the diversity in the field and industry, and facilitate networking among the underrepresented groups.