2022 Conference

2022 Public Choice Society

Click here to view the Conference Program

UPDATE: February 23, 2022

Just two weeks and a day until our opening plenary session with Bryan Caplan on the subject of why Tiebout was wrong. The revised conference program is now live.

UPDATE: December 9, 2021

We have sent paper status updates to presenters by email. Additional new information follows.

  • In the next two weeks, we will assign papers to sessions and time slots, and then the preliminary conference program will go live as scheduled. Please note, your login page will continue to indicate your paper entry as ‘Pending’ until we go live with the published program.
  • Paper presenters must upload papers by February 26, or two weeks before the conference. Panel discussion presenters are not required to upload papers.
  • Graduate students: we will contact you about the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Prize (criteria here), the Student Fellows Program (travel stipends), and special workshops held during the conference. If you do not receive this message, please email info@publicchoicesociety.org.
  • Safety and Security: PCS remains committed to holding a safe and effective conference. Attendees are encouraged to take any and all necessary measures to care for their own safety and that of other attendees. The Grand Hyatt Nashville provides an ideal venue, and we remain in continual communication with hotel management to create as safe and successful an environment as possible for PCS 2022. In addition to following all local and state policies, the hotel is utilizing enhanced safety and cleanliness protocols include common area sanitizing, face-covering rules, and guest sleeping room preparation, all following Hyatt’s Global Care & Cleanliness Commitment.
  • State and Local Policies: The State of Tennessee currently features no travel or mass gathering restrictions. The City of Nashville rules include face coverings required in all Metro Government buildings. Some local establishments have additional requirements for entry. Lists of local rules and up-to-date information are available Visit Nashville‘s tourism and travel site.
  • International Arrivals: For those joining us in Nashville from abroad, the Centers for Disease Control provides updated travel requirements at this site.


UPDATE: November 1, 2021

Paper submission deadline extended to November 15, 2021.

Dear Friends and Members of the Public Choice Society

We invite papers for the 59th Annual Meetings of the Public Choice Society, March 10-12, 2022 at the Grand Hyatt Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Paper and session submissions will be open from September 1 to November 1.

Society President William Shughart will be organizing the academic program. With over 70 planned concurrent sessions and three plenary sessions, the conference will bring together cutting edge research across all fields of public choice. Special sessions and events will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the publication of James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock’s The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy. The conference will open at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday March 14, and conclude with a closing reception on Saturday evening.

Socializing and sustenance will be abundant, as the conference will feature common meals each day, coffee breaks between academic sessions, and cocktail receptions on Thursday and Saturday nights. Our annual awards luncheon on Saturday will announce the Duncan Black Prize, the Gordon Tullock Prize, and the eighth annual Elinor and Vincent Ostrom Prize for best combined paper and presentation by a graduate student. Our affiliate groups and sponsors will exhibit various opportunities including special publisher discounts available to conference attendees. Finally, the Grand Hyatt Nashville provides the ideal setting for us to gather amidst the history, culture and entertainment of this vibrant city.

The paper submission deadline is November 1 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Online registration opens September 1. Persons interested in organizing a four-paper session are asked to send their proposal to President William Shughart at the Contact Form. Please visit the conference website for up-to-date information about important dates, conference procedures, hotel & conference registration, and travel logistics. In the coming months we will announce further details about plenary speakers, booking your room, and applying for graduate student financial assistance.

Thanks to your participation, the 2022 conference is shaping up to be a wonderful event. So come discover new lines of research, catch up with old friends, and have a good time. We especially encourage you to share this with your graduate students, who will benefit from an invigorating atmosphere, rigorous discussion of their papers, optional research workshops, and the chance to compete for the Elinor and Vincent Ostrom Prize for best combined paper & presentation.

On behalf of the Executive Committee, we look forward to seeing you next March, and we thank you for participating in The Public Choice Society.

Sincerely,

William F. Shughart II

President, 2020-2022

and

Edward J. Lopez
Executive Director and Past President

Important Dates

9/1/2021 Website open for paper proposals and early registration
11/1/2021 Submission deadline
11/15/2021 Paper submission deadline extended
12/7/2021 Authors informed of status of their proposals
1/6/2022 Preliminary conference program is published online
1/20/2022 Graduate student deadline to upload paper for Ostrom Prize
2/6/2022 Regular registration deadline
2/9/2022 Cutoff for hotel reservations
2/24/2022 Deadline for authors to upload complete papers (two weeks before conference)
3/10/2022 Conference Begins

Conference Agenda

Thursday
March 10

1:00 p.m. – On Site Conference Registration Opens

2:00 pm – Executive Committee Meeting

4:00 pm – Plenary Session 1: Bryan Caplan, George Mason University, “Tiebout Was Wrong… But Why?” Sponsored by Liberty Fund and Political Economy Research Institute at MTSU

6:00 pm – Opening Reception Sponsored by Liberty Fund (all registered attendees are invited)

7:30 pm – Dinner on Own

Friday
March 11

7:00 – 8:00 am – Continental Breakfast

8:00 am – 6:00 pm – Academic Sessions

9:30 am – 10:00 am – Coffee Break sponsored by Duke PPE Program

10:00 am – Plenary Session 2: Marianne Johnson, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, “On Classical Liberalism and Optimism: James M. Buchanan and Elinor Ostrom.”

5:30 – 8:30 pm – Graduate Student Reception (By Invitation) Sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies

6:00 pm – Dinner on Own

6:00 pm – Graduate Student Reception (by invitation only)

Saturday
March 12

7:00 – 8:00 am – Continental Breakfast

8:00 am – 6:00 pm – Academic Sessions

9:30 am – 10:00 am – Coffee Break sponsored by F.A. Hayek Program at Mercatus Center

10:00 am – Plenary Session 3: Lynne Kiesling, University of Colorado Denver, “Institutional Complexity and Technological Change in a Regulated Industry”

1:00 pm – Awards Luncheon (Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Prize, Gordon Tullock Prize, Duncan Black Prize, Presidential Address)

6:00 pm Closing Reception sponsored by IHS and PCS (all registered attendees are invited)

7:30 pm – Dinner on Own

Archived Information for the 2022 Conference

Conference Procedures

Public Choice Society combines academic rigor with constructive collegiality. We invite all participants to contribute to a productive climate of scholarly exchange.

PAPER PRESENTERS: If you are presenting a paper (as opposed to presenting on a panel discussion), please upload a PDF file of your paper no later than two weeks prior to the start of the conference. Papers will not be searchable and are viewable only by PCS members while logged into the website. You will have the option of leaving your paper for the conference archives or taking it down at the end of the conference. The Society retains no rights or privileges to work presented or posted here. To upload your paper, simply log in to the site and browse to the My Account section where you will find the paper upload tool.

CHAIR DUTIES: If you are chairing a paper session, please confirm to see that presenters on your session have uploaded their papers no later than February 24. Initiate an email thread with presenters and discussants to facilitate pre-conference arrangements. During the session, Chairs are responsible for keeping presenters on time. With four papers per 90-minute session, a good baseline is 15 minutes per presenter, 5 minutes per discussant, and 10 minutes for floor discussion.

DISCUSSANT DUTIES: In most cases, each presenter is also a discussant on the same session. Please locate the paper you are discussing on the PCS website starting two weeks prior to the conference start date. Prepare critical and constructive comments in advance, and aim your remarks so as to promote rigorous yet collegial discussion during the session.

MEETING ROOM SETUP: The hotel meeting rooms come equipped with a podium, screen, and projector with HDMI cable. Please bring your adapters, clicker/pointers, and at least one laptop per session. There will be a WiFi signal in the meeting room space.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION: Conference registration is $240 for students and $295 for non-students if received by the regular registration deadline (February 6), after which the rates increase by $75. Individuals who present multiple papers are asked to submit $25 per additional paper. To submit your registration payment, or to confirm that you have paid, simply log in to your account and view the information presented in the My Account area.

STUDENT FELLOWS PROGRAM: Subject to funding, we are able to offer a limited number of graduate students with financial assistance to present a paper at the Annual Meetings. Eligibility requires current standing in a recognized graduate degree program and either: 1) submit a paper proposal through the Society website, in accordance with the procedures and deadlines in the online Call for Papers; or 2) be invited to present a paper on an organized session. After the paper submission deadline, the PCS office will contact eligible recipients to request a short letter from their adviser or chair.

CANCELLATION POLICY: If for some regrettable reason you must cancel then your registration payment will be refunded according to the following schedule: full refund if cancellation notice is received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 20; 50% refund if received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on February 20; no refund if received by 12:00 a.m. on February 21 or later. Use the Contact Form at the top right of the website to email the PCS office with “Registration Cancellation” in the subject line and a brief explanation in the email body.

EXHIBITORS: Publishers and other organizations are invited to exhibit! Please reach us at the Contact link above. We will reply with information about the exhibit space, shipping, and all other details you will need.

SUBMIT PROPOSALS: To propose your paper for the conference, please visit the Submit Paper tab here on the PCS website starting September 1. Presenting authors will initially submit just the title and abstract of their papers. The regular (non-extended) submission deadline is November 1. The conference selection committee will review proposals and notify authors the first week of December. If your paper is selected for the program, you are asked to upload the complete draft of your paper no later than February 28. Following Public Choice Society tradition, all presenting authors also serve as Discussant on another paper presented during the same session.

ORGANIZED SESSIONS: If you would like to propose an entire organized session, please contact the Society President who will reply with criteria and instructions. Program space for organized sessions may be limited.

Hotel Information

Grand Hyatt Nashville
1000 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203

Grand Hyatt Nashville

Book your group rate for Public Choice Society

The PCS Conference rate is $239 plus tax for single/double occupancy. The deadline is February 9, 2022. While reserving your room, please note the hotel’s cancellation and check-in policies.


Visitor and Transportation Info

Nashville City Guide


The Public Choice Society is thankful for the organizational, intellectual, and pecuniary partnership of several sponsoring organizations at the Annual Meetings. Sponsors for the upcoming year’s conference will be listed here soon. For previous years’ sponsors, click on past conferences above.

Liberty Fund
Sponsor of Pre-Conference Program

Political Economy Research Institute
Sponsor of Opening Plenary Session, Presidential Session, and 60th Anniversary of The Calculus archival display

Institute for Humane Studies
Sponsor of a Reception & Printed Program

F.A. Hayek Program at Mercatus Center at GMU
Sponsor of a Coffee Break & Printed Program

Center for Study of Public Choice at GMU
Sponsor of a Graduate Student

Springer
Sponsor of the Gordon Tullock Prize

The BB&T Distinguished Professorship of Capitalism at WCU
Sponsor of AV Equipment at General Sessions

American Institute for Economic Research (AIER)
Sponsor of a Coffee Break and Pre-Conference Program

Duke PPE Program
Sponsor of a Coffee Break & Printed Program