The 1st Call for Papers
The 18th International Symposium on Human Capital and Labor Markets
Celebrating the Release of the China Human Capital Report 2026
Center for Human Capital and Labor Market Research (CHLR)
Central University of Finance and Economics
December 12-14, 2026
Beijing, China
The conference will mark the release of the 18th annual China Human Capital Report 2026. It will feature distinguished keynote speeches, as well as plenary and parallel sessions on key topics related to human capital and labor markets on December 13 and 14, 2026. The event will be preceded by an onsite reception on December 12 (Saturday) evening.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Joseph G. Altonji
Thomas DeWitt Cuyler Professor of Economics at the Yale University and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Dr. Altonji will deliver his keynote speech on December 13, 2026.
China Economic Review Special Issue
All submissions accepted for presentation will be eligible for submission to a Special Issue of China Economic Review.
Submissions
We invite submissions of both empirical and theoretical papers in broadly defined areas of human capital, labor economics, and health economics. We particularly welcome papers that study the interaction between human capital and emerging labor market phenomena, including artificial intelligence, the digital economy, and innovation-driven productivity growth or new quality productive forces.
Please submit an extended abstract (400-500 words in English) by October 15, 2026 (Eastern Standard Time) online at:
https://editorialexpress.com/conference/CHLR2026/
All presentation and discussion must be in English.
Decision notifications will be announced on a rolling basis. Early submission is encouraged if needed for visa application. All notifications will be announced by November 1, 2026.
All papers accepted for presentation must be submitted to the conference by December 1, 2026 (Beijing Time, GMT+8) so that discussants will have enough time to prepare comments.
Important Dates
Submission Deadline: October 15, 2026
Decision notifications to Authors: November 1, 2026
Registration Deadline: TBD
Full Paper Submission Deadline: December 1, 2026
Application for Registration Fee Refund Deadline: December 1, 2026
Information on Past Conferences
Contact Information
Organizing Committee
Haizheng Li (Chair), Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
Zhiqiang Liu, (Co-Chair), Professor, SUNY at Buffalo
Faculty Coordinator
Sophie Wang (Coordinator), Associate Professor (Ph.D., Simon Fraser University), CHLR
Nina Yin (Coordinator), Associate Professor (Ph.D., Toulouse School of Economics), CHLR
Visiting faculty
Barbara Fraumeni, Professor Emeritus, University of Southern Maine and CHLR
Patrick McCarthy, Professor Emeritus, Georgia Institute of Technology and CHLR
Xiaojun Wang, Associate Professor, University of Hawaii and CHLR
Cynthia A. Bansak, Professor, St. Lawrence University and CHLR
Steven Lehrer, Professor, Queens University and CHLR
CHLR full-time faculty
Fanzheng Yang, Associate Professor (Ph.D., Iowa State University)
Ning Jia, Associate Professor (Ph.D., University of Notre Dame)
Chen Huang, Associate Professor (Ph.D., University of Arizona)
Yi Zhang, Associate Professor (Ph.D., Tilburg University)
Yulong Chen, Associate Professor (Ph.D., Iowa State University)
Ya Gao, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., University of Groningen)
