CALL FOR PAPERS: Symposium Honoring Louis Putterman

EI Special Issue: Honoring the Contributions of Louis Putterman

Louis Putterman (Brown University) is one of the rare economists who has made pioneering contributions across several areas. His body of work spans multiple fields of economics and has inspired research of broad appeal to experimentalists, development economists, economic historians, and scholars of institutions and growth. To honor his contributions, Economic Inquiry is pleased to announce a forthcoming special issue dedicated to exploring and extending the themes central to two key areas of his research: (1) experimental economics and (2) long-run economic growth. As a leading general interest economics journal, Economic Inquiry is particularly well-suited for this special issue.  

We invite submissions that are built on or are inspired by Professor Putterman’s work, particularly:

Experimental Economics:

• Studies employing laboratory or field experiments to investigate cooperation, trust, fairness, and social preferences—for example, through public goods games, trust games, and explorations of institutional choice.
• Experiments that illuminate the role of institutions, group identity, communication, or historical context in shaping economic behavior.
• Methodological contributions that advance the design, interpretation, or replication of experimental work.

Long-Run Economic Growth and Development:

• Analyses of how deep historical factors—such as the emergence of agriculture, early state formation, historical institutions, patterns of migration, and cultural transmission—affect modern development outcomes.
• Innovative measurement of historical events and forces with long-run effects.
• Theoretical or empirical contributions that advance our understanding of persistence and path dependence in economic development.

 You can find more information on his body of work at  https://www.louisputterman.com/ and  https://sites.google.com/brown.edu/louis-putterman.

Guest Editors

Experimental Economics:

• Abhijit Ramalingam, Appalachian State University
• Kenju Kamei,  Keio University
• Jean-Robert Tyran, University of Vienna

Long-Run Economic Growth and Development:

• Areendam Chanda, Louisiana State University
• Ola Olsson, University of Gothenburg
• Ömer Özak, Southern Methodist University

Submission Information

Deadline for submissions: August 31, 2026

Please review the complete instructions for manuscript submissions to Economic Inquiry.

• In the ‘Additional Information’ section of the submission module, please select “Yes. This is for the Special Issue in Honor of Louis Putterman”.
• Also, indicate in the cover letter that the manuscript should be considered for the Special Issue in Honor of Louis Putterman.
• Economic Inquiry is published in an online-only format.
• There is no restriction on the number of papers for the special issue, as long as they meet the standards of any regular submission to the journal.
• For pre-submission queries, please email econinqsi.lpexp@gmail.com  for experimental economics, and econinqsi.lpleg@gmail.com for long-run economic growth.