We are excited to announce the call for abstracts to participate in an Idea & Paper Development Workshop (IPDW) to be held in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on the beautiful campus of Oklahoma State University (OSU), on Thursday, February 20, 2025.

The workshop is being sponsored and hosted by OSU's Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise (ISFE).  Attendance is free and open to all; pre-registration is strongly suggested (see above). 

This IPDW represents a unique opportunity for PhD students and early-career faculty to hone their theory- and paper-development skills by receiving direct and personal feedback from established senior scholars—scholars with demonstrated excellence in publishing consequential papers in the fields of economics, entrepreneurship, and political economy.

The senior scholars who will be jointly leading this IPDW are Dr. Russell Sobel (The Citadel), Dr. Gary Wagner (University of Louisiana, Lafayette) and Dr. James Payne (Oklahoma State University).

The IPDW will be a highly selective event wherein PhD students and early-career faculty (i.e. non-tenured) from all disciplines are invited to submit abstracts for new paper ideas or working papers.  Each abstract will be blindly reviewed by one or more of the IPDW's aforementioned senior scholars.  Each senior scholar will select up to four (4) abstracts to be discussed during the IPDW.  As such, up to twelve (12) young scholars will be selected.

Each young scholar who is selected and who attends the full IPDW (and resides outside of Oklahoma) will be provided a $1,000 travel and lodging stipend.  A limited number of discounted rooms (standard queen for $119.95 per night (plus taxes), for up to two nights, 2/19 & 2/20) is available at The Atherton Hotel (the conference hotel) — to receive the discounted rate, call the front desk (405-744-6835) and give them the group code "ISFE Workshop".

(all times are CST)

• * Wednesday, 1/15 (5p) – deadline for abstract submissions (must be submitted online via bit.ly/IPDW-Submit)
• * Wednesday, 1/22 – notifications regarding selection will be sent to applicants
• * Wednesday, 2/19 – Travel (on your own) to Stillwater, OK
• * Thursday, 2/20 (7-8a) – Breakfast (on your own) (free breakfast buffet at The Rancher's Club is included with room reservations at The Atherton Hotel)
• * Thursday, 2/20 (8:30a-noon) – Morning Workshop Sessions
• * Thursday, 2/20 (noon-1p) – Lunch for Workshop Attendees
• * Thursday, 2/20 (1-5:30p) – Afternoon Workshop Sessions
• * Thursday, 2/20 (5:30-7p) – Dinner for Workshop Attendees
• * Thursday, 2/20 (7:15-8:15p) – (optional) Evening Lecture by Dr. Russell Sobel (on "Creative Destruction, Entrepreneurship, & Discovery")
• * Thursday, 2/20 (8:30-9:45p) – (optional) Informal Networking Social
• * Friday, 2/21 – Depart (on your own) from Stillwater, OK