Warsaw International Economic Meeting (WIEM) 2026 Summary

The Warsaw International Economic Meeting (WIEM) conference has been hosted by the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Warsaw for over 20 years, with this year marking its 21st edition.

At the Faculty of Economic Sciences we hosted university representatives from academic centers such as Liverpool, Warwick, Boston, Trier, Oslo, Pamplona, Berlin, and Melbourne. Polish research institutions were also well represented, including the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the Polish Academy of Sciences, and, of course, the University of Warsaw. The last two days of June were dedicated to an intensive exchange of knowledge and inspiring panel discussions. The academic sessions covered various areas of economics, including international trade, labour and education economics, macro- and microeconomics, political economy, and finance.

The invitation to participate in the conference was accepted by Prof. Oded Galor, Professor of Economics at Brown University, who delivered a keynote lecture titled "The Cultural Roots of the Wealth of Nations". In his research, Prof. Galor focuses particularly on Unified Growth Theory, evolutionary economics, and demography. He was the founder and long-standing Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Economic Growth and has served on the editorial boards of several academic journals. In 2025, the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń awarded Prof. Galor an honorary doctorate (doctor honoris causa) for his contributions to research on the causes of economic development and for formulating the Unified Growth Theory.

We would like to thank all participants for their presence, inspiring discussions, and interesting ideas for joint research. Special thanks go to dr hab. Leszek Wincenciak, prof. ucz. (Department of Education and Labor Economics), for coordinating the event.